Così Fan Tutte, ENO

★★★★

Mozart’s Così fan tutte has always walked a tightrope. Written as a comedy of manners, it cheerfully toys with ideas of fidelity, manipulation and sexual politics that can feel awkward today if played straight. Phelim McDermott’s production for English National Opera, first seen in 2014 and now revived, doesn’t try to fix the opera so much as reframe it. By setting the action in a 1950s Coney Island funfair, it turns cynicism into spectacle and invites us to laugh first, then think later.

From the opening moments, the tone is clear. A glittering curtain rises on a troupe of circus performers tumbling out of a trunk, advertising lust, intrigue and big emotions. It’s knowingly over the top, and refreshingly honest about what kind of evening this will be. Tom Pye’s set transforms the Coliseum stage into a seaside playground: rotating motel rooms, fairground rides, swan boats and teacups spin the lovers around as thoroughly as the plot does. The design is busy, sometimes bordering on excess, but it largely works because it mirrors the emotional chaos of the story.

That sense of visual overload is balanced by clear storytelling. The disguises, deceptions and swaps of affection remain easy to follow, helped by Jeremy Sams’s lively English translation, which lands jokes cleanly without over-forcing them. Dinis Sousa keeps the orchestra fizzing, with crisp rhythms and plenty of sparkle, though at times a touch more restraint might have allowed the singers extra space in the bigger ensembles.

The cast is a major strength. Andrew Foster-Williams is an excellent Don Alfonso, oily and amused, yet with just enough ambiguity to suggest he might not entirely believe his own philosophy. Joshua Blue and Darwin Prakash make an engaging pair as Ferrando and Guglielmo, singing warmly and playing off each other well. Lucy Crowe stands out as Fiordiligi, delivering her famously difficult arias with focus and emotional bite, most strikingly in Act II when the carnival noise falls away and the opera briefly turns inward. Taylor Raven’s Dorabella is lighter, more pragmatic, and nicely contrasted, while Ailish Tynan’s Despina brings sharp comic timing and a welcome sense that she’s seen it all before.

The circus ensemble could easily have overwhelmed the drama, but they mostly know when to step back. When they do, the emotional shifts land more clearly, and the satire bites a little deeper. Still, the production favours entertainment over psychological depth, and some moments skim the surface where they could dig further.

This Così fan tutte is clever, colourful and confidently staged. It may not reveal new truths about love, but it delivers Mozart’s game-playing with style, humour and musical assurance.

Image credit: James Glossop