Così fan tutte in the Helsinki Music Centre's Sonore stage, the 9th of September, 2020

After the ”Covid fan tutte” made by the Finnish National Opera, it was time to return back to the source opera, that is, Mozart’s “Così fan tutte”, which was this time performed by the students of the Sibelius Academy in the Helsinki Music Centre’s Sonore stage.  

The story of this opera is one of the most idiotic in the history of opera. Provoked by Don Alfonso, two young men (Guiglielmo and Ferrando) decide to test the fidelity of their girlfriends (Fiordiligi and Dorabella). They pretend to leave to war, but return – disguised – to seduce each other’s girlfriends. In the end they succeed and naturally then return as themselves to reveal the betrayal of the young women. Of course, in the end they are all happy and in love.  

When the story itself is pure garbage and the opera has, all in all, been performed far too many times, the only thing that can save the whole performance is the direction. Unfortunately, Vilppu Kiljunen’s direction contained absolutely nothing surprising or memorable, so it definitely could not save the performance. When the accompaniment by piano was equally uninspiring, it was best to close one’s eyes and concentrate on the singers.

Fortunately, the second first night singers that I heard, were quite promising. My greatest favourites were Olivia Kyllönen as Dorabella and Simonas Strazdas as Don Alfonso. Kyllönen has a lovely, warm voice and she also performed with vivacity. Strazdas on the other hand, acted like a cocky young rock star as Don Alfonso. Great charisma and a handsome voice.  

Luke Scott in the role of Guiglielmo was also promising. He had some problems with the technique, but once he will solve those, he has a chance to give excellent performances. Tuomas Miettola’s Ferrando was a bit lifeless, but his voice material was good, so once he learns to perform better, he has a chance to make a good career on opera stages. Manon Gleizes as Fiordiligi sang well, but I did not personally like the tone of her voice. Her duets with Gleizes were excellent. Wilhemina Tómasdóttir also made a good impression as Despina.