The Catskill Chronicle

The cast of Cosi fan Tutte. – Provided photo

By Barry Plaxen

The Delaware Valley Opera’s 2010 production of Mozart’s comic masterpiece of seduction and disguise, “Cosi Fan Tutte,” opened on July 24 at the Tusten Theater in Narrowsburg.

Sung in Italian with English supertitles and a small orchestra led by David Baranowski, the cast is superb. All of them. Jennifer Marshall and Jennifer Caruana as the seduced sisters Fiordiligi and Dorabella, Victor Khodadad and Thomas Lehman as the seducers Ferrando and Gugliemo, along with Christine Marie Heath as the ladies’ maid Despina and Eric Barsness as their friend Don Alfonso, the two schemers whose greed creates the situation that at first we laugh along with until we realize the folly of it all, to say the least.

Eric Barsness and Christine Marie Heath as the schemers in Cosi Fan Tutte.

The plot involves two innocent young couples, manipulated for money and fun by two cynics, musically woven by Mozart’s genius into a succession of exquisite arias and duets, and even more exquisite ensembles. The production is performed in modern dress with stage direction by Sam Helfrich, a most refreshing directorial talent, whose inspirational first act staging made miraculous use of Mozart’s genius by having the characters sit, stand, run, turn, pout, cry, laugh, conspire, and have verbal interplay with each other based on what the music is expressing and what the orchestra is actually playing. During musical passages of great beauty and character-contemplation, Helfrich makes sure no one on stage moves, a wise contrast to the busy, entertaining stage business during the farcical plot advancements. It is the finest staging of a live opera I have ever seen in Sullivan County and almost anywhere else.

Each and everyone of the cast are excellent singing-actors with formidable stage presences, and delights to watch and listen to. Washingtonville resident Christine Marie Heath’s experience in musical theatre is obvious as she steals every scene she is in, not an easy task with the other talented and highly-professional performers singing and acting both dramatically and comedically/farcically without fault.

The libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte does contain one slow second act scene between the two seductions, and for this act, Helfrich used less stage movement and concentrated on the feelings of the characters. Helfrich also chose to make this modern dress version a bit more suggestive than usual, thereby making the hypocritical (and un-addressed by Da Ponte) double-standard on the part of the males involved more obvious and possibly even heinous. Quite a strong departure from the farce it started out to be.

Laura Jellinek created a clever basic set for the Tusten’s stage and for Helfrich’s use. Costume designer Melissa Schlachtmeyer’s fun costumes for the male singers “in disguise” are standout. Eric Southern’s lighting design, and the orchestra complemented this formidable entertainment.

And kudos, of course, to the genius, W.A. Mozart, Sr., if “kudos” is the correct word. How does one congratulate arguably the greatest composer who ever lived for his wondrous accomplishment? Do you congratulate the Bard for “Hamlet”? Rembrandt for his self-portrait?

Performances of “Cosi Fan Tutte” run through August 21, all at the air-conditioned Tusten Theater. For reservations: 845-252-3136. www.dv-opera.org. Act Presto, not Lento, for tickets.