Friday night was the last opera of the season for me, and it was Cosi. Mom & I got all dolled up and headed down to Lyric. It was a fun one to see, with beautiful music (if not as memorable as some of Mozart's other operas) but there were some recognizeable pieces and beautiful, beautiful duets and ensembles. Ahhhh, Mozart.
The cast was not "big name" but it was quality: Ryan Center (GAHHH!! It sounded SO MUCH BETTER to call it "Lyric Opera Center of American Artists"!) alums Erin Wall and Lauren McNese as Fiordiligi and Dorabella, Eric Cutler and Opera Hunk Extraordinary, Nathan Gunn as the boys, Nuccia Focile as Despina and Sir Thomas Allen as Don Alfonso. All of them solid. Good actors. Sounded like a dream when they all sang together.
The production was updated tp a resort in 1914. That made for a pretty, modern, set design scheme (at one point, a sheer curtain at the back of the stage swept aside to reveal a beachscape - lots of brightly colored umbrellas clustered around. the supernumeraries were kept busy bustling around in the background in crisp red uniforms, and in two cases, old fashioned striped bathing costumes) and stunning period costumes. It did make it kind of hard to believe that 20th century people would fall for the lame plot twists. As Despina says "These girls are so stupid!" and they were. I mean, honestly. "Let's put on false moustaches - they'll NEVER recognize us then!" Not even clever Despina saw through the boys' disguises. So the plot was one of the more goofy ones in the operatic repertoire, but really, it hardly mattered. Everything was put together so well, love more or less conquered all, and the curtain went down on another great season at Lyric.
Already have my subscription for next year sorted out - Renee in Traviata!!! YES! Oh, and some other stuff, too.....
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