COSÌ FAN TUTTE

"A stroke of genius" — Wall Street Journal

This production, previously presented at the English National Opera, is by the inventive director Phelim McDermott. In Così fan tutte, McDermott transforms the opera's original setting but maintains its characters' isolation: The drama unfolds in a surprisingly closed environment in which the characters' only seeming occupation is the business of love. McDermott reimagines this world amid a Coney Island–inspired sideshow, where "that kind of fantasy would be believable." McDermott explains that he portrays "an idea of being away from home ... The fairground and the sideshow are this magical place in which the rules are not quite the same as they are in everyday, ordinary life." Mozart's topsy-turvy world of masks and disguises is perfectly complemented by McDermott’s carnivalesque production. 

"Coney Island so vivid you can practically smell the hot dogs … Fun and sometimes magical … Kelli O’Hara has always made being a Broadway diva seem effortless, and she skips just as lightly onto the opera stage … Amanda Majeski is exquisite and Serena Malfi convincingly playful … Christopher Maltman sings with a relaxed, invincible swagger." — New York Magazine 

"A stroke of genius … Fine young cast … Vocally solid and theatrically committed, their nuanced performances captured the opera’s comedy and pathos." — Wall Street Journal