Così fan tutte has always been the problem child of the Da Ponte operas. Critical favor has elided it in favor of Figaro and Giovanni, it's more illustrious siblings. This is partly because Così's tone (or message -- or moral -- etc.) has been so difficult to pin down. This is a story of two young couples who have their sense of self and beliefs in love systematically dismantled. But the ending is happy, with all being forgiven and a double marriage!
In its discrepancy in tone, in the sheer impossibility of glossing over the secret trauma of its subject, I am sharply reminded of the Shakespearean "problem plays," which are similarly tragicomic, queasily on the edge between the serious and the comic. Like Così, the problem plays have the syntax and structure of comedy, if not the diction.
But there is an essential difference between Shakespeare and Mozart, which is that, in drama, it is almost impossible to actually juxtapose these antipodes. Music is different, because the quality of the music can run in parallel to the quality of the story, words, and drama. Juxtaposition can and does happen; is not the Duke's jaunty melody in Rigoletto deeply ironic, the sadness of Violetta counterpointed by Verdi's persistent waltz beat?
I will never forget a Boston Lyric Opera production of Così fan tutte that I was lucky to see years ago. Specifically, the finale: the four young leads penned in on the stage, looking lost and almost terrified, while Mozart's music practically seared with beauty.
In its discrepancy in tone, in the sheer impossibility of glossing over the secret trauma of its subject, I am sharply reminded of the Shakespearean "problem plays," which are similarly tragicomic, queasily on the edge between the serious and the comic. Like Così, the problem plays have the syntax and structure of comedy, if not the diction.
But there is an essential difference between Shakespeare and Mozart, which is that, in drama, it is almost impossible to actually juxtapose these antipodes. Music is different, because the quality of the music can run in parallel to the quality of the story, words, and drama. Juxtaposition can and does happen; is not the Duke's jaunty melody in Rigoletto deeply ironic, the sadness of Violetta counterpointed by Verdi's persistent waltz beat?
I will never forget a Boston Lyric Opera production of Così fan tutte that I was lucky to see years ago. Specifically, the finale: the four young leads penned in on the stage, looking lost and almost terrified, while Mozart's music practically seared with beauty.
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