Review: 'Così fan tutte'

Virginia Opera
Joseph Walsh conducting
Nov. 26, Carpenter Theatre, Richmond CenterStage

"Così fan tutte," last of the three great operatic collaborations of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Lorenzo Da Ponte, is a comedy of manners, mores and mistaken identities. To pull it off, performers need an unerring sense of comic timing and gesture, and the ability to blend voices and instruments in tightly and subtly woven ensembles.

The Virginia Opera’s current production of "Così" gets it half right. Stage director Lillian Groag paces and garnishes the comedy very effectively; but, in the first of two Richmond performances, the slowish tempos set by conductor Joseph Walsh sapped much of the score of its vivacious energy, and the voices of six young singers too rarely combined agreeably in ensembles of more than two.

Soprano Jan Cornelius (Fiordiligi), mezzo-soprano Katharine Tier (Dorabella), tenor David Portillo (Ferrando), baritone Timothy Kuhn (Guglielmo), bass Todd Robinson (Don Alfonso) and soprano Camille Zamora (Despina) made fine work of some solo numbers – Portillo’s caressing treatment of the great love aria "Un’ aura amorosa," for example, or Zamora’s playfully wry rendition of "Di pasta simile."

In ensembles, however, none sounded much inclined to rein in tone or timbre to balance and complement other voices.

(Occasional raw tones and dropped notes suggested that several singers were suffering from the bronchial bug that had much of the audience coughing.)

The show delights the eye with a set (by Michael Yeargan) of elegant simplicity, as well as vivid costumes and sunny lighting (by Kenneth Steadman). Director Groag sprinkles every scene with broadly comic touches that enliven the show without bogging down its pace or interfering with characterization and interaction.

The orchestra, drawn from Hampton Roads’ Virginia Symphony, made fine work of Mozart’s score, especially his wind writing (oboist Sherie Lake-Aguirre was especially stellar), and played with more panache and sparkle than might have been expected, given the rather lumbering tempos.

The production repeats at 2:30 p.m. Nov. 28 at the Carpenter Theatre. Tickets: $29-$99. Details: (866) 673-7282; www.vaopera.org