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Commonwealth Opera ushers in new era

Collaboration and new management signal a new era for Commonwealth Opera. A production of Mozart’s classic comic opera “Cosi fan tutte” ushers in this new era on Friday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. at the Academy of Music Theatre in Northampton.

The collaborative aspect of the production lies in the engagement of the Arcadia Players and their director Ian Watson to provide the orchestral component of the opera. Watson and the Arcadians specialize in period-instrument performance, which is (in this case) to say playing the music of the 18th century on instruments modeled after 18th-century instruments, and attempting to recreate the style of 18th-century playing based on the most current scholarship of the period.

In short, opera-goers will hear Mozart’s music as Mozart himself might have heard it.

“This is really something quite special,” according to Watson, whose widely known and respected experience and expertise in this area of performance practice have combined with the musicians’ skill to elevate the Arcadia Players to the level of the finest historic ensembles in the Northeast.

The new management of the project comes from executive director Joseph Summer, whose work as a composer is already familiar to Commonwealth Opera patrons from his Shakespeare concerts. Summer’s daughter, Eve Summer (also Commonwealth’s assistant executive director) is the stage director for “Cosi.” Scenery is designed by Julia Noulin-Merat, costumes by Katherine O’Neill and lighting by Ben Pilat.

The hilarious and convoluted tale follows the misadventures of two betrothed couples, Ferrando and Fiordiligi and Guglielmo and Dorabella. The cynical Don Alfonso contends that all women are fickle (“Cosi fan tutte” – “They are all like that”) and bets the men that he can prove their fiancees are just like all the rest. Ferrando and Guglielmo pretend to be headed off to war, and Fiordiligi and Dorabella promise to be faithful in their absence, but the men return in disguise and court each other’s fiancees, ostensibly hoping to find them steadfast.

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Italian opera adds twist to classic fairy tale

Having heard the Disney version of the Cinderella story many times, I was skeptical about what the “La Cenerentola,” an Italian opera of Cinderella, would bring to the story.

To my surprise, I was delighted by the overwhelmingly talented singers and orchestra that made the story spring to life.

Opera San Jose presented “La Cenerentola,” an Italian opera of the fairy tale Cinderella, held at the California Theatre on Saturday night.

The only way I was able to understand what each character was saying was by glancing up at a large screen that displayed the translations for the opera in English.

The screen was helpful to understand the snide comments, but I felt the subtitle screen took away from the opera, since my eyes were distracted looking back and forth at the screen and the characters.

The theater lights dimmed and the opera began, as a frail woman named Cinderella stood onstage in a patched skirt. She is hunched over as she irons her master’s clothing. Her eyes looked up and gazed into the audience as she parted her lips to sing.

Her immaculate voice filled the theater as she sang an Italian opera song about a prince looking for a bride.

The music enhanced the mood of the opera and added drama.

The music was conducted by Anthony Quartuccio, who commemorated his sixth assignment with Opera San Jose.

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