Mozart: Così fan tutte / Martinpelto, Hagley, Murray, Streit, Finley, Allen, Rattle [Import] Review

When this period-style "Cosi" appeared in 1996, the Gramophone found the mot juste, calling it "aggressively buoyant."The authenticity movement was in full swing in London, and here was Simon Rattle trying to beat Eliot Gardiner and Roger Norrington at their own game.He attacks the music in a manic state, giving it few chances to relax or smile. All the more a pity because his singing cast is considerably better than the one heard on Gardiner's own live performance (DG Arkiv). Anyone who keeps up with the English opera scene will recognize some familiar names:

Così fan tutte,K588.
Hillevi Martinpelto sop Fiordiligi ; Ann Murray sop Despina ; Alison Hagley mez Dorabella ; Kurt Streit ten Ferrando ; Gerald Finley bar Guglielmo ; Thomas Allen bass Don Alfonso

Choir of the Age of Enlightenment; Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment/Simon Rattle

When I first encoutnered this performance I got a headache from Rattle's relentless pace, but on a recent listen I had to admire the energy and vocal polish of the cast, particularly the men. Gerald Finley would go on to fame as Doctor Atomic in John Adams' opera of the same name; Thomas Allen was already the top British baritone -- he gives a funnier, more canny Don Alfonso, however, in a later English-language "Cosi" on Telarc under Mackerras. The stylish German tenor Kurt Streit became a noted Mozart specialist.

As for the women, Rattle picked a relative unknown, Hillevi Martinpelto, as his Fiordiligi, and a Gardiner regular, Alison Hagley, as Dorabella. The two sisters blend nicely, but both give bland portrayals. Vocally they are no match for rivals on the order of Caballe, Janet Baker, Renee Fleming, and Anne-Sophie von Otter, not to mention great singers of an earlier generation. Ann Murray makes an effective Despina, more coarse than flirty or knowing, however.

The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, borrowed from Gardiner's bailiwick, plays as expected, with zingy strings, no vibrato, and pert attacks. But under Rattle they are more polished than usual. In any event, the audience interrupts this live performance with occasional applause and chuckles, so we know they enjoyed the evening thoroughly. The record-buying public didn't respond, on this side of the Atlantic at least, and as a result this is one "Cosi" that has rather sunk out of sight.

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