| go to index of reviews | go to entry page | | go to other departments |

Larry Littany Litt

 

Cosi fan tutte at Bronx Opera Cosi fan tutte Music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Words by Lorenzo da Ponte Translation compiled by Benjamin Spierman Conductor Michael Spierman Directed by Benjamin Spierman Presented by The Bronx Opera Company Lovinger Theatre at Lehman College, Bronx NYC Until May 4, 2025 Reviewed by Larry Littany Litt April 27, 2025 Matinee   If ever you are challenged by a friend to bet that your truly beloved sweetheart can be unfaithful, don’t take the bet. That’s the unspoken  advice to lovers in Wolfgang Mozart and Lorenzo Ponte’s morality tale “Cosi fan tutte.” But if you are so foolish then immersing yourself in Bronx Opera Company’s excellent production will teach you an invaluable life lesson.   First I want to remind readers that Bronx Opera Company is one of New York’s most respected producers of traditional and modern operas. Professional singers and musicians commit themselves to the Number 4 train several times a month because that’s where real musical art lives on a budget ticket. The musicians under conductor Michael Spierman rise to every occasion with tremendous vitality and sonic brilliance.   As always in opera it’s the singers who come from near and far because they love to sing incredibly difficult music written by geniuses like Mozart. What caught my attention in particular was the English translation of the libretto compiled by producer/director Benjamin Spierman. The cunning deceit of Sr. Ponte lyrics is revealed in our vernacular. Readers become listeners, freed from the need to read the projected super titles hanging from the ceiling. Indeed they can be of help. But once my ear was attuned to the English language singing I fell in step with the plot’s twists and turns. We open our romantic adventure at a cafe table with Alfonso connivingly played by tenor Michael Niemann talking shite about true love with his students Ferrando (tenor Matthew Youngblood) and Guglielmo (tenor Johannes Linneballe) sung as interchangeable cadets waiting to go off to war. All three men agree that a bet is called for to prove the fidelity of their lovers, the sisters Fiordiligi (soprano Samantha Long) and Dorabella (soprano Miastasha Gonzales-Colon). Their duets had me shivering with love’s sweet potential.   From the moment the bet is agreed on, Despina their servant comes to encourage the young women to try their hand at love while their boyfriends are away. You can imagine the soul searching and desires tearing the women apart.   Despina sung by Emily Hughes is the most vibrant and at the same time underhanded character. She persuasively plays both sides of the romantic life. She does as she is paid for. She is truly the bad seed in this bet. Her singing chilled me with a desire for her advice to fail. Her other  characters perked up onstage as well. A truly diverse singer.   Of course Mozart’s music dominated the opera. Thank you Bronx Opera Company for a wonderful production.

 

| home | reviews | cue-to-cue | discounts | welcome | | museums |
| recordings | coupons | publications | classified |