Tag Archives: Throwback Thursday
#TBT: Cosí fan tutte, A Mozart Comedy
Così fan tutte (2011); Photo: Robert Millard
Mozart is the king of comedy. His Così fan tutte is a comedic battle of the sexes in the style of Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew. In September 2011, LA Opera presented Così fan tutte for the first time in 15 years. The story begins when two young men go undercover to test the fidelity of their fiancées. Not to be outdone, the women put up a good fight against false seduction, but will they prove faithful? Filled with ravishingly beautiful music and sparkling wit, Così fan tutte features a funny, clever plot that was bracing and politically incorrect, even in Mozart’s day.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rvj4EndElTU
#tbt: Porgy and Bess
Mic Bell as Porgy in the 1987 production of Porgy and Bess
George Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess was the closing production of LA Opera’s inaugural season. It was seen as a highly influential production, created for Houston Grand Opera in 1976, that made the case for the work as a true opera, rather than a Broadway musical, and restored Gershwin’s complete original score. Director Jack O’Brien described the experience of working on the opera as “opening a treasure never seen,” because of the artistic community that formed to create the show. It was a triumphant season finale, conducted by John DeMain, with a magnificent cast that included Donnie Ray Albert and Carmen Balthrop, alternating in the title roles with Mic Bell and Henrietta Davis.