Così Fan Tutte review – witty circus staging

Not so long ago Così Fan Tutte seemed full of pitfalls, its cynicism, cruelty and outdated sexual politics posing real problems. Phelim McDermott’s 2014 ENO staging lands as something of a relief, serving up those issues with a witty garnish and presenting them as sheer entertainment.

The overture sets up what’s to come: in front of a lamé curtain, 12 circus performers unfold themselves from a trunk, carrying placards promising Lust! Intrigue! Big Arias! The setting is Coney Island in the 1950s; Act 1 is Happy Days meets motel farce, with Tom Pye’s nimbly rotating walls and Guglielmo and Ferrando channelling the Fonz.

There is a lot of potential distraction: the dozen extras bend, tumble, sword-swallow and fire-eat their way through the show, and the ENO chorus appear as mostly silent fair-goers (is that a real candy-floss machine?). Yet attention stays where it needs to. By the end even the circus performers seem to know they are not the main attraction; something more mind-boggling has been going on in their midst.

United States, Coney Island

così fan, tutte, eno, phelim mcdermott, tom pye, coney island, 1950s, circus, motel farce, overture