Youth in an opera singer doesn't automatically equal a lack of skill.
A case in point is the lively and professional production that members of Seattle Opera's Young Artists Program are currently giving Mozart's frolicsome "Così fan tutte" at Bellevue's Meydenbauer Center.
Director Josemaria Condemi and his singers on Saturday, April 3 - there are two completely different casts - kept the comedic opera light on its feet with their mostly pitch-perfect characterizations of zealously youthful ardor wedded to clever staging, including some hilarious bawdy bits. The story, buoyed by Mozart's heavenly music and Lorenzo da Ponte's witty libretto, revolves around a bet that two young officers in Naples, Italy, in 1790 make on their fiancées' virtue. Goaded by their friend Don Alfonso, who insists that it's impossible for a woman to be faithful to her man, Guglielmo and Ferrando swear their fiancées are different. Don Alfonso wagers that the officers' sweethearts, Fiordiligi and her sister Dorabella, are just like every other woman. Outraged, Guglielmo and Ferrando embrace the bet, which includes a provision that they must follow Don Alfonso's orders for 24 hours.
Beyond the delectable production, the Meydenbauer's cozy 410-seat theater offers the rare experience of opera up close and personal. In comparison, the auditorium in Marion Oliver McCaw Hall, where the Seattle Opera performs, accommodates 2,900 audience members. And the price is unbeatable. It's a mere $28 for any seat in the house, or $15 for students.
The proficiency of the Young Artists Program production should come as no surprise. Condemi has worked as assistant director on five Seattle Opera mainstage productions and has directed for companies as diverse as Opera San José and the Teatro Colón. The 12 singers selected for the program are the ones with sufficient talent to remain standing out of a nationwide field of hundreds of applicants between the ages of 21 and 30. Then the 12 finalists undergo intensive schooling, from first-class vocal coaching to instruction in foreign languages, acting and stage combat. Only after several months of training do they perform a full-fledged opera. Graduates of the program have gone on to perform for such respected companies as the Metropolitan Opera in New York and La Scala in Milan, Italy.
Their Seattle Opera training has clearly rubbed off on the April 3 "Così fan tutte" cast. The company's emphasis on credible acting was evident in the fury that surfaced in Kristin Barrett's commanding voice as her Fiordiligi battled temptation. Keith Harris proved himself to be both an accomplished physical comedian - contorting face and body with abandon - and a fine baritone. Some of the best fun came from watching Melissa Collom's Dorabella gradually shift from hesitantly virtuous but tempted to knowing sensuality, although her voice didn't always keep up with her portrayal. From the moment Stefan Fehr sauntered onto the stage, it was apparent his Don Alfonso was up to worldly mischief, and he dominated the stage with his presence as much as his baritone. Maria D'Amato played the saucy maid Despina with a haughty authority as she instructed the sisters on how to handle men.
The only weak link in the bunch was tenor Ted Schmitz' Ferrando. During his solo number his voice was constricted and he struggled with the high end of his range. His acting was often just as cramped, but his awkwardness wasn't as distracting as it might have been since it fit his character's youthfulness.
Dean Williamson, who will conduct Seattle Opera's 2005 production of Offenbach's "Contes d'Hoffmann," and members of the Auburn Symphony did a generally smooth job of backing up the singers.
The touch of exaggeration in Cameron Anderson's sets - from the passionate hot pink and blue of the sisters' house to the oversized, sculptural fabric hedges of the last act's garden - suggested from the opera's opening that this is a fable about love and not a realistic storyline. Anthony Baker's costumes continued the fairytale atmosphere with fanciful brio.
"Così fan tutte" is delightful romp that merits an excursion across Lake Washington to Bellevue.
Freelance writer Maggie Larrick lives in the Seattle area and is the former editor of the News.
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