Covid fan tutte

Covid fan tutte is a 2020 comic opera created and produced by the Finnish National Opera. It is a comedic adaptation of Mozart's Così fan tutte, depicting life in the spring of 2020 as disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The libretto is by Minna Lindgren, written to music by Mozart. The idea for the opera was conceived by conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen and soprano Karita Mattila, after the pandemic caused the cancellation of Finnish National Opera's planned production of Wagner's Die Walküre. A filmed performance of the work is available for free streaming worldwide through March 2021.

History

The inception of Covid fan tutte came about when the COVID-19 pandemic caused the cancellation of Finnish National Opera's planned production of Die Walküre. The idea was conceived by conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen and soprano Karita Mattila, Finnish natives who both reside in the U.S. but flew to Finland when international borders began closing due to the pandemic, and then found themselves virtually unable to return to the U.S.[1]

Journalist and novelist Minna Lindgren was commissioned in mid May 2020 and given a little over a month to create a libretto,[2] which she wrote to selected music from Mozart's Così fan tutte and an aria each from Don Giovanni and The Magic Flute.[1] Recitatives were eliminated completely,[3][1] and Salonen composed additional musical snippets such as interludes and keyboard parts.[2]

The completed opera premiered in Helsinki on 28 August 2020, directed by Jussi Nikkilä and conducted by Salonen,[4] with a total of 12 performances through 23 October 2020, subtitled in English, Finnish, and Swedish.[5] Mattila is a featured performer in the production, playing a parody of herself as an internationally renowned opera diva trapped in Finland because of the pandemic, and also singing the role of Despina.

On 6 October 2020, Finnish National Opera posted a film of the 1 September 2020 performance of the opera online, free to stream worldwide through 30 March 2021, with available subtitles in English and Finnish.[6][7] On 16 October 2020 OperaVision also posted the entire opera on YouTube, with English subtitles available, for four months.[8]

Roles
Roles, voice types, premiere cast
Role Voice type Premiere cast, 28 August 2020
Conductor: Esa-Pekka Salonen[9]
Fiordiligi soprano Miina-Liisa Värelä / Hannakaisa Nyrönen
Dorabella soprano Johanna Rusanen / Jenny Carlstedt
Ferrando tenor Tuomas Katajala / Markus Nykänen
Guglielmo baritone Waltteri Torikka / Arttu Kataja
Despina soprano Karita Mattila / Reetta Haavisto
Don Alfonso bass Tommi Hakala / Nicholas Söderlund
Interface Manager non-singing Sanna-Kaisa Palo
Mozart non-singing Ylermi Rajamaa
Covid Virus dancer Natasha Lommi
Sign-language interpreter silent Outi Huusko

Synopsis

The opera opens with the prelude to Act 1 of Die Walküre, which is eventually interrupted by Finnish National Opera's customer interface manager, who instructs conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen to play Mozart instead. At home, opera singers adjust to the reality of possible COVID-19 restrictions and uncertainties. Government officials try to authoritatively project an air of competence and assurance.

An opera diva rails on her phone to a friend, complaining that she is accidentally stuck in Finland, in a dreadful rented flat, when she should be jet-setting around the world singing leading roles at top venues in productions that have now all been cancelled, without pay, because of the coronavirus. She then gets a call offering her a lead role in a Finnish National Opera production.

The rest of the opera satirizes the lives of ordinary Finns; announcements and news conferences by government officials and scientists; and updates as more data emerges and lives grow more constricted and confusing because of societal, business, educational, and work changes in an atmosphere lacking in consistent clear direction from national and international authorities.

References
  1. Gereben, Janos (31 August 2020). "Salonen and Mozart Gang Up on COVID-19". San Francisco Classical Voice. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
  2. Lindgren, Minna. "Cut, paste and sing!". Finnish National Opera. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
  3. Kallio, Jari (9 September 2020). "Covid fan tutte – Entertaining time-piece with Salonen and an all-Star cast". Adventures In Music. 'I know this will upset many people, but I [Salonen] really can’t stand secco recitatives. I’ve always found them boring. ... And for once I had the license from the Artistic Director to say to Minna that this time we would not have a single recitative. That was so liberating.'
  4. "Covid fan tutte". Finnish National Opera. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
  5. Tanner, Jari (28 August 2020). "Mozart meets COVID-19: Finnish opera adapts classic piece". The Washington Post. Associated Press. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
  6. "Mozart meets COVID-19 – Finnish National Opera adapts the composer's classic piece Cosi fan tutte with an updated storyline that plays off of Finland's outbreak last spring". Facebook. Consulate General of Finland in New York. 6 October 2020.
  7. "Covid fan tutte" (video). Finnish National Opera. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
  8. "Covid Fan Tutte – Finnish National Opera and Ballet". YouTube. OperaVision. 16 October 2020.
  9. "Covid fan tutte, Mozart". Operabase. Finnish National Opera. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
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