With Così fan tutte, the last joint venture of operatic dream team Lorenzo da Ponte and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, the Salzburg Festival launches out upon its eagerly awaited new Da Ponte cycle under the musical direction of Christoph Eschenbach and the artistic direction of Sven-Eric Bechtolf. The “House for Mozart”, the Salzburg hall that has committed itself to a tradition of cultivating the highest artistic standards of Mozart performance, sees Mozart-wise actor and director Bechtolf in charge. True to text, humorous and precise, his classically aesthetic interpretation is good for “a whole lot of laughs” (Münchner Merkur).
Bechtolf shifts the action of this amazingly modern opera about love, partner-swapping, sexuality and power to an Oriental-looking palm court and the guessing game about women's faithfulness pursues its course. The director takes us by surprise with an unexpectedly pessimistic conclusion in which there are nasty shocks for all of us, not just the lovers.
At Bechtolf's disposal is an ensemble that, with the freshness of youth, gives its all on stage. Not least Gerald Finley as Don Alfonso, exercising his “noble, supple baritone” (Salzburger Nachrichten) as he pulls the strings: “absolutely brilliant!” raves the Kronen Zeitung, while the New York Times rates him “outstanding”. As Despina, Martina Jankova enthrals her audience: “a delight to listen to” say the critics. The two sisters Fiordiligi and Dorabella, played by Malin artelius and Marie-Claude Chappuis, come across well as they vividly portray the inner conflict between loyalty and adventure in a young maiden's breast: “a feast of fine voices … special praise for Malin Hartelius as Fiordiligi and Marie-Claude Chappuis as Dorabella” writes the Donaukurier. Luca Pisaroni, “the world's most sought after Guglielmo” (New York Times) enchants with the “splendid timbres of his sonorous and colourful baritone” (Frankfurter Allgemeine
Zeitung) while Martin Mitterrutzner as Ferrando “dispatched all three arias with ease” (New York Times).
The Vienna Philharmonic is conducted by Christoph Eschenbach, whose interpretation ensures “drive and sharp dynamic contrast” (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung) and “dramatic
outbursts “ in the orchestra pit (Der Standard). “An adorable Mozart” (La Stampa).
