‘Così Fan Tutte’: Where Opera Meets Comedy

UPDATED: February 17, 2018 at 3:49 p.m.

“Così Fan Tutte,” the Boston Conservatory at Berklee’s new opera, which ran Feb. 8 through Feb. 10 at the Boston Conservatory, was a humorous performance about the difficulties of love. As the character Despina (Erin Matthews) walked onstage wearing an outrageous doctor disguise, it was clear that the Conservatory revitalized and reworked Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Lorenzo Da Ponte’s 1790 opera in order to appeal to a contemporary audience. This adaptation fueled hilarity through strange, anachronistic props and costumes, which included an Einstein-esque wig and stethoscope. The show successfully presented a witty retelling of the classic opera packed with jocularity though it cannot make up for the outdated source material’s unfair and problematic portrayal of women.

“Così Fan Tutte” rose to popularity in the 20th century and has remained an oft-performed staple of the opera world. The comedy begins with a conversation between an older man, Don Alfonso (Blair Mellow), and two of his younger male friends, who are completely smitten with their betrothed. Alfonso scoffs at their lovesickness and dismisses the girls’ alleged loyalties, telling his friends Ferrando (Quinn Bernegger) and Guglielmo (John Bitsas) that all women have fickle hearts and are not to be trusted. They make a bet to see whether or not their partners will be faithful. The two men pretend to be drafted for the war, but in reality, disguise themselves and try to seduce the other’s fiancée. Despite the women’s histrionics when the men tell them that they are leaving for war, their beloved partners Fiordiligi and Dorabella recover quickly and are very quickly tempted by infidelity. Lunacy unleashes, shattering expectations and forcing the characters to untangle the comedy of errors that ensues.

The show’s elaborate and eye-catching costumes contrast with the minimalist props, as both the former and latter focus the attention on the storyline and the actors. The production does not experiment with blocking, but sticks to tradition to allow the six actors to spread across the stage or group together in pairs depending upon the scene. The Conservatory’s production skillfully uses lighting to punctuate the plot, with dramatic spotlights highlighting characters during important scenes. Mute coloured lights seep in from the sides of the stage to reinforce the tone of various scenes while the absence of light marks scenes of tension or crisis.

As it condemns women for infidelity while ignoring the two men’s deceit, the plot often feels antiquated, propagating dangerous, old-fashioned gender stereotypes. The very name of the opera, “Così Fan Tutte,” which translates to “All women are like that” only reinforces outdated ideas which pin woman down as the source of all sin. These stereotypes are very much upheld throughout the play. In spite of this, the opera’s ending is mildly empowering: Fiordiligi and Dorabella finally exercise their agency by choosing to ignore their lovers’ impassioned cries of betrayal and hurt. They successfully assuage everyone’s hurt feelings, convincing Ferrando and Guglielmo to forgive them and accept that love often has its ups and downs.

Having said this, “Così Fan Tutte” remains an indisputably humorous opera. The musicality of the Conservatory’s production is masterful: The orchestra played beautifully throughout the whole performance while the actors onstage tackled complex six-part harmonies, rich and endlessly sustained solos, and tricky swelling crescendos with a high level of dexterity. Erin Matthews was particularly talented in her role as Despedina, as she had to switch her singing “voice” multiple times as her character threw on disguises to deceive others throughout the story. Ultimately, the Boston Conservatory performers’ skill level in “Così Fan Tutte,” coupled with the inherent whimsy of the opera, made this a marvelously executed performance.