Accessible English opera impresses but doesn’t move

Opera to the uninitiated can seem like a daunting prospect. Performances are often long and may be perceived to be difficult to follow.

But for me - who has been to only one other opera, which was sung in Italian - the English Touring Opera’s English language production of Mozart’s much-loved Cosi Fan Tutti was a good introduction.

The story is light-hearted and easy to follow. Two sets of fiancés are separated and replacements found, while confusions and tricks lead the central characters to discover that they are not at all the people they thought they were - bringing excitement and embarrassment to the fore.

It all seemed to carry a strong flavour of the Shakespearian comedy to me, with the exaggerated characters, baudy humour, double meanings and ironies - and it was a relief to be able to enter a world of pure theatre, in which characters are there to entertain rather than preach or carry deep meaning.

I was - perhaps naively - expecting more flamboyance in the costumes and set, but this production presented a rather bare and uninteresting visual spectacle.

And while it was good to be able to understand the words, the singing, to my ears, did not touch quite the same emotions that the Italian language seemed to do.

Having said that, it was a pleasure to be able to behold such talents on stage. The cast was small - including Laura Mitchell, Kitty Whately and Paula Sides - but all singers displayed incredible vocal ranges, accompanied by Mozart’s beautiful score performed by a 25-piece live orchestra. They were elegant and harmonious - but not quite so passionate and dramatic as what I had been expecting. Perhaps my opera ignorance is to blame.

The ETO’s website says its aim is “to offer opera to everyone” and, judging by this production, they have achieved that pleasantly enough.

Sundari Cleal