Cosi Fan Tutte

At the end of a week of culture it was back to the West End for Cosi Fan Tutte at the London Coliseum. The English National Opera performance of some three and a half hours (including a single interlude) seemed no harder on my rear than the much shorter La Cage Aux Folles so either the seats are better or the show more griping… who knows? One thing for sure is that the libretto made the Playhouse story (see yesterday's blog) seem positively complex…. but that’s Opera for you! All in all in another good night out. Of course the audience was very different, more restrained but also reverential with never a cough escaping a single throat. Rousing applause at the end but not the riotous exuberance of earlier in the week. And for me the biggest shock was no curtain call for the chorus, admittedly they had little to do, but they were not allowed on the stage at the end and the adoration was rather greedily hogged by the principles and conductor… but no show for the chorus. This left me with a feeling that Opera will always be viewed as a pursuit of the elite rather than entertainment for the masses…. shame!