As reported by the FAZ, the Staatstheater Wiesbaden has announced Mozart’s ‘Così fan tutte’ as an ‘immersive experiment about love, fidelity, and relationships.’ The production comes from French film and video artist Marie-Ève Signeyrole and was taken over from the Opéra national de Lyon. The work, premiered in Vienna in 1790, is relocated to a lecture hall where Professor Don Alfonso explains his theories on erotic attraction to art college students.
The plot follows the familiar Mozart libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte: two couples – sisters Fiordiligi and Dorabella with their fiancés – are selected for an experiment that tests the lovers’ fidelity. The chambermaid Despina acts as a poorly paid student assistant who already knows the outcome of the experimental setup. On the lecture hall wall, next to a ‘Così fan tutte’ graffiti, the slogan ‘My Life My Choice’ is emblazoned – a reference to the LGBTQ movement.
Signeyrole stays true to her reputation as a video artist: a cameraman moves through the auditorium and projects details of the scene onto the back wall of the lecture hall. The FAZ reviewer recalls earlier opera productions where the ‘image follower’ was still seen as a sign of ultimate modernity – today the technology seems rather cumbersome. The new setting, which Signeyrole developed together with set and costume designer Fabien Teigné, is therefore somewhat disappointing.
Musically, however, the performance convinces: the FAZ praises the fantastic musical achievement. The production is the last opera premiere of the season at the Staatstheater Wiesbaden. Despite the conceptual weaknesses, the evening remains a noteworthy contribution to contemporary Mozart reception.
Source: www.faz.net
