The wonderful performance of 'Cosí fan tutte' in Ferrara can give some inside trading about the present trends in the execution of classics, with respect to reference benchmarks. For the higher perfectionism in the performance of senior fund manager Claudio Abbado continues to refine that 'clockwork Gioacchino' already seen in Cenerentola and Italiana in Algeri at La Scala.
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The results are nice and exciting, and would have pleased theoricist and practitioners, especially Russian, of the artist as 'spring puppet'. This works well with productions that do not attempt interpretation. Already with Peter Brook's Don Giovanni, singers are not the interpreters of characters with a personality of their own. They are always nice and pleasant young people of today - as everybody - and all completely interchangeable: on Monday, Patrizio and Deborah sing, on Tuesday Christian and Daniela, on Wednesday Marco and Martina, and it makes no difference. As for all young stars, who, among the screams of their little fans, tell the reporters that that they have the same taste and habits as everybody else of their age: rock and ecology, TV and their wives, pizza and sport. (so Don Alfonso's motto 'Ripetete con me: co-sí-fan-tut-te' sounds very realistic). No pretense to have or display a personality of their own, beyond the role they interpret, just as Callas, or Ava Gardner or Totò.
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Thus not even for a moment one must think that we have to do with 'characters': we are dealing with performers, in the same way as with the first violin and the other members of the orchestra, wearing tuxedos: and they only communicate artistic emotions. As in a concert or in an execution in concert form.
So Fernando and Guglielmo no longer waste their time dressing as 'Albanese nobles': for they do not interpret, they perform, in a highly professional manner as with Peter Brooks or at Santa Cecilia.
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There is a pleasant surprise: this time don Alfonso is not (as he should be) an older playboy, who has seen everything and makes fun at inexperienced people: he is another young man, who spends his time organizing jokes.