Cosi Fan Tutte - Boston Lyric Opera - Review

We were fortunate to participate in the BLO's Final Dress Rehearsal For High School Groups program so that we could see Cosi Fan Tutte. We had 30 people in our group and they all had a great time! Below is KM's review of the performance!

 

Review of Cosi Fan Tutte

By KM

Cosi fan tutte is a very intriguing opera. Alfonso makes a bet with two young men, Ferrando and Guglielmo, that their girlfriends will not be utterly faithful to them. The men accept and pretend to go off to war, leaving their girls, Fiordiligi and Dorabella, heartbroken and full of grief. Suddenly two strange foreigners, Ferrando and Guglielmo in disguise, appear and try to woo Dorabella and Fiordiligi.

Of course the girls stay faithful, until the second act when they are encouraged by their maid Despina to give into a little “harmless” flirtation. In doing so the girls, unknowingly, choose the other’s true lover. The girls try to resist but eventually fall in love with the ones they chose. Hearing this Alfonso creates a fake wedding, in which Despina is a fake lawyer. After the ceremony Ferrando and Guglielmo “return” from war and reveal that they were the strange men. In the end no one goes back with their original partners nor their new ones.

I found this opera quite humorous but unnecessary in certain places. Often the actors would repeat lines over and over again, as if to make sure they had gotten their point across. The scenery was very nice but some of the objects suspended in air were crooked and unnatural. The lighting and costumes were very well done. All in all it was a very good performance.