May 8, 2007

How’s it going to end?
‘Cosi Fan Tutte’ staged this weekend
By Jeff Rapsis jrapsis@hippopress.com

It’s not exactly unfinished. But one of the beguiling aspects of Mozart’s “Cosi Fan Tutte,” a light opera about love and infidelity, is that the ending isn’t clear at all.

“What I love about it is that no matter how many times you’ve seen this opera, you don’t know how it’s going to end,” said Phil Lauriat, artistic director of Granite State Opera, which is staging a fully professional production of “Cosi” this weekend in Portsmouth and Concord.

“Do they go back to the original pairings?” asked Lauriat, who will conduct the performances. “It’s completely unclear in the libretto who ends up with whom, so it’s up to the production to decide how to end.”

See how Granite State Opera wraps things up on Friday, May 9, at 8 p.m. at the Portsmouth Music Hall and Sunday, May 11, at 2 p.m. at the Capitol Center for the Arts in Concord.

The plot: To show that women are capable of infidelity, nobleman Don Alfonso wagers with two young soldiers that their brides-to-be will be unfaithful to them within 24 hours if they do everything he says. They agree, and soon Alfonso has them pretending to be called off to war, then returning disguised as mustachioed Albanians, each charged with doing his best to seduce the other’s bride-to-be.

Leads include, playing the two brides, soprano Theresa Cincione as Fiodilgi and mezzo Meredith Ziegler as Dorabella; as the two soldiers, tenor Jason Karn as Ferrando and baritone Ross Benoliel as Guglielmo. Soprano Heather Parks sings the role of Despina the maid, while baritone Phil Lima is cast as Don Alfonso.

“Cosi Fan Tutte” will be performed in Italian with English titles above the stage. Seats for the Friday, May 9 performance at 8 p.m. at the Portsmouth Music Hall are $19 to $72; to buy tickets, visit themusichall.org or call 436-2400. Seats for the Sunday, May 11 performance at 2 p.m. at the Capitol Center for the Arts are $19 to $72; visit ccanh.org or call 225-1111.

Jeff Rapsis is a musician, a member of the board of directors of the Manchester Community Music School, and contributes program notes to the New Hampshire Philharmonic and other groups.

Jeff Rapsis is a working musician and a member of the board of directors of the Manchester Community Music School, and contributes program notes to the Palace Festival Orchestra and other groups.

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