The Little Thief Called Love, “Cosi Fan Tutte”

The crowd quiets down. The stage gradually lights up. The orchestra begins to tune their instruments. Then, the music begins.

The highlight of the opera, Cosi Fan Tutte, in my opinion was its musical composition. The intricate composition of the orchestral music stunned me. No doubt that Mozart is an extremely famous composer, however, to see his music play out like a story book amazed my eyes. As the plot carried on, the music highlighted the emotive tones of the story. The dynamics and instrumentation all helped to relay a more intuitive sense of tone.

However, I cannot say that the orchestral music was all there was to this Metropolitan Opera. The singers were no doubt, amazing. When Dorabella sang her aria, “E Amore Un Ladroncello,” (The Little Thief Called Love) I was taken aback at her voice. Her ability to take in all the staccatos and high pitched notes to produce a bright, cheery tone was like none other. On the other hand, Despina’s voice was seductive and enthralling. Overall, all the singer’s expressions conveyed the story that much better.

I was also, captured by their costumes. In the picture below, Despina’s dress has a red silky corset top continued by a golden skirt. Her dress is not like a gown like that of Dorabella’s and Fiordiligi’s. However, it catches the audiences’ eyes with its rich colors. The corset makes the costume more feminine and revealing, just like Despina’s character. In the second picture, Dorabella is wearing a red gown while Fiordiligi is wearing a blue gown. The design is exactly the same however, the contrast in colors shows the slight difference in their characters. Although both characters end up making the same decision, they both go through different stages of internal conflict.

Before I attended the opera that night, I had high hopes yet I knew what to expect. I’ve seen “Hansel and Gretel” at the MET before. Operas are amazing. The costumes, the sets, the lightings, the voices, and the music is always spell-bounding. I mean, imagine trying to fill up the entire theater with your voice. It’s crazy but it’s admirable and respectful. But when I saw “Cosi Fan Tutte”, I heard something different.

Yes, the opera is extremely long. Yes, the theatre is spacious. Yes, the actors are all stunning. Despite all that, I felt that the music is what kept the opera flowing. Mozart’s ability to incorporate different moods of every scene into every note he wrote is something else. After this experience, I gained a different view on operatic music. It’s not easy to compose like Mozart, but it’s even harder to conduct like Mozart would’ve wanted. Even though the people onstage are extremely talented, the people in the pit with their heavy instruments deserve that much respect as well.