Through the Ages

by Peter Burwasser

Mozart wrote Così fan tutte, like most of his operas, with young characters. It follows that young singers, such as those who performed in both the AVA and Curtis productions this month, would be ideal to bring these 18th-century figures to life, and such was the case. The Curtis version, especially, sparkled with an almost naive vitality and emotional resonance that knows no time.

At the same time, this youth can be a hindrance. Mozart's music is written at a level of sophistication and technical complexity that is best served by seasoned artists. Curtis and AVA are two of the finest music schools around, and although the singing was delightful to hear and technically sound, both productions lacked a center of gravity. While much of the score seems fluffy, and the plot farcical, Mozart and his librettist, Da Ponte, delve into the mysteries of the human psyche in an unexpectedly profound manner. In a fully ripened Così, Fiordiligi's great aria "Per pietà" magnificently focuses the heady swirl of passion and reason that is the dramatic core of the work. Neither Alexis Barthelemy for Curtis nor Elaine Alvarez in the AVA version quite captured the full sense of this pivotal scene, although both sang beautifully.

Even the few years of age (and professional experience) the AVA students had on the Curtis performers added a certain extra dimension to their production. The AVA voices were less tentative, with fewer seams showing in their phrasing and dynamics. The more significant difference was the orchestra. AVA's Christopher Macatsoris is an exceptionally alert conductor and a very sympathetic Mozartean, providing, as always, a robust framework for the voices. At Curtis, the student orchestra sounded, as was to be expected, plush, but conductor Otto-Werner Mueller tends to squander his resources, here producing a sort of buttery turgidness that impeded the flow of the action.

Curtis director Thor Steingraber took advantage of a larger stage and, apparently, a larger budget for scenery and lighting, to present a more vivid and opulent physical sense. The effect was somewhat garish, or comic-book-like at times, including whorehouse colors and lighting in the seduction scenes. AVA's tiny stage is at once a challenge and an opportunity, and director Chuck Hudson wisely opted for a minimalist approach, staying out of the way of the intrinsic intimacy of the space.

The other differences in the productions were superfluous. The ending, which Da Ponte left ambiguous, was configured in different ways in these productions, but neither version altered the substance of the opera. Curtis showed a bit more skin and implied sex, but so what? Although it was, at first, a disappointment to have two Così fan tuttes in an otherwise scant season, hearing these two presentations back-to-back only reminded us of the endless appeal of Mozart's genius. I'm ready for another one at any time.

COSí FAN TUTTE Nov. 12, Academy of Vocal Arts, Nov. 20, Curtis Opera Theatre at the Prince Music Theater