Paris Opera Orchestra and Chorus - Mozart's Così Fan Tutte Opera Recording | Perfect for Classical Music Lovers & Opera Enthusiasts

I am an opera buff, and a purist. One who can't stand the bastardizations opera has gone through in an attempt to garner reviews and sell tickets. So I studiously avoided this release, based on the cover alone, the second I saw that the production paired dancers with singers. Who needs it? Certainly not Mozart. Then one day I happened to end up on the page sheerly by accident and, to my astonishment, saw Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker's name on the cover of the box. I couldn't believe my eyes, or my own prior stupidity. One of the greatest living artists is the one who put the dancers on the stage. That was all I needed to know. That was something else entirely. I've now watched the production twice and wanted to recommend it, highly recommend it, even to purists like me!! The surprise, though, is that the dance ATK inserted into the opera is extremely undemonstrative, unassertive, almost unimportant, when it simply isn't absent, for long stretches. But the production is a stunner. An extremely young cast, but ATK got something magical out of all of them. Not a weak performance in the bunch, and Ginger Costa-Jackson as Dorabella is one of the sauciest, sassiest, simply most believeable Dorabellas I've seen in my entire life. What gives this production its punch (and I would never have predicted this) is that ATK takes it seriously. Little or no farce, no camping up of roles, no funny hats and costumes, no silliness from the silly plot. This is an emotionally serious production, even a grave and disturbing one, particularly in Act 2. Fiordiligi and Ferrando are played wonderfully straight, as really (really) upset confused pained lovers. (Think of what Peter Hall did to Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream back in the late 60s for reference.) By the time the 11th, 12th, and 13th scenes (numbers 28-30) roll around, Keersmaeker has moved us into very hot, very deep, even scary emotional water. She's revealed the emotional seriousness of Mozart's comedy. Bravo. Highly recommended. (But a note to novices: you should know the opera's story and characters very well before you watch this since there are so few costumes, props, or sets to guide your understanding in the physically spare and lean presentation that Keersmaeker creates. The drama and the presentation of it is all emotional--not about costumes, mustaches, and hats but feelings. But that's enough. That's the wonder and glory of it.)