The Opera Tattler

* Notes *

Livermore Valley Opera opened a delightful production of Così fan tutte (pictured, photograph by Barbara Mallon) last weekend at the Bankhead Theater. The youthful cast pulled off impressive physical humor and garnered many laughs.

Mozart’s music shows every flaw, and Maestro Alexander Katsman did not always have the small orchestra completely together, nor were the singers always with him, though they very attentively watched the conductor.

Stage Director Rob Herriot had more success, the staging employed platforms to bring scenes in, along with digital backdrops. The costumes were in keeping with the time period, and the disguises were all very convincing.

There were many sightgags and funny things to notice on the stage, and all the singers did quite well with this. This is certainly a performance there is always something to notice and be amused by, but it wasn’t too much either. I was particularly amused by the supposed Albanian dance moves the characters did.

It was a joy to hear baritone Eugene Brancoveanu as Don Alfonso, his voice is warm and beautiful, his diction very clean. Mezzo-soprano Courtney Miller has a strong, metallic sound and was extremely winning as Despina.

For our four leads, the higher voices seemed to have a harder time. Tenor Sid Chand (Ferrando) has a lovely, bright brassy tone, but struggled in his Act I aria “Un’aura amorosa,” especially with the higher notes. Soprano Meryl Dominguez’s Fiordiligi is charming and she has some lovely low notes, but she too seemed constrained in her upper register.

Our Guglielmo, baritone Samuel Kidd, fared much better. His flexible, clear voice is suited to Mozart. His Act II aria “Donne mie, la fate a tanti” was particularly good. Mezzo-soprano Megan Potter was very funny as Dorabella and her sound has a delicate iciness to it but also strength. Her duet with Kidd was strong, as was her aria “”È amore un ladroncello.”

* Tattling *

The audience was engaged and laughed a lot. There were some sounds of a plastic water bottle being squished a few times, but I did not notice much extraneous noise.