I’m always worried when I read that an opera—or anything on the stage, really—has been “brought up to date” or modernised, so I entered the Mayflower last night with a clenched jaw. On the walk to the theatre I was wondering, what is the value of old opera? Is it their prestige tied to their age? In which case, shouldn’t we lean in to their historical value and give up on our need for everything to be made modern in the hope that it brings in new audiences (which it rarely ever does). But WNO’s choice to set Mozart’s Così fan tutte in a sixth form School of Love was a wonderful choice.
By moving the story into the school, WNO managed to perk up the thick misogynistic undertones of the plot, because who is more intense and changeable in love than teenagers? As someone who has been a teenage girl, I can attest that I would also have vowed to “bury myself alive” if my first boyfriend had been called away to the Navy. It’s like with Romeo and Juliet, their ages need to be emphasised because who else would behave this rashly for someone they’ve met for five minutes at a party? This interpretation made the young lovers charming and sympathetic.
Stylistically the set and costumes of this production were very pleasing (except for the interior murals of a pair of lockers in Act 2 which felt out of place). I liked the large cutout collages that shaped the stage, but it was a shame it was such a faff so see them moved onto the stage at the beginning. The opening scene, in which (seemingly hundreds of) school children ran across the stage moving the cutouts, was not as impactful as WNO may have hoped. These cast members were not very good at holding still in their freeze frames, and there were just so many of them that it weakened the visual. There were other occasions in which the broader cast were on stage without much reason, presumably to justify why there were so many of them, and at one stage a random schoolboy sat pensively in a spotlight for a few moments, only to walk right off. I think there were just too many people, and they often felt shoehorned into scenes to make use of them.
It was wonderful to listen to a live orchestra after having seen (and loved) Matthew Bourne’s Edward Scissorhands last week, which used a recorded soundtrack that got away with sounding live. Perhaps the sanctity of live music in opera is its value, and is what we should prioritise protecting above sticking to original time settings.
Despite my usual issue that operas are generally just too long, this production was a joy to watch. The main cast were wonderful actors in addition to their wonderful voices, and there were several laugh-out-loud moments. In my books, the WNO can’t be beat for their productions that draw the fun out of operatic tradition.
Verity Babbs is the host of Voice FM's 'Arts & Culture Show' on Wednesdays at 2PM
www.veritybabbs.com
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