QUOTES
Moritz’s production “displays its beauties like a precious antique” (Washington Post)
“The whole thing is enchantingly cheeky.” (Washington Post)
“…a treat as eye-catching and tasty as the richest of Viennese pastries… a delight!” (DC Metro Arts)
“Young Baltimore Director Alison Moritz deserves much credit for the success of the production. She has clearly taken great pains to support these women’s performances.” (DC Metro Arts)
“If you’re in need of lighter-than-air meringue fare, this is a delectable evening of opera.” (DC Metro Arts)
“Refreshingly entertaining!” (Broadway World)
…”traditional but with attentive Personenregie and a sly twist at the end… [Moritz’s Così] channels a sort of quotidian ebullience” (Parterre)
“This Così, in happy truth, was the best I’ve seen and heard in many a year: strong, simple, delivered straight up” (Opera Canada).
“Moritz offered no fuss but plenty of fine detail, and elicited some finely pointed acting from her well-balanced cast” (Opera Canada).
FROM ALISON
This jewel-box production of Così fan tutte was built to feature an all-star cast in a celebration of WNO’s return to the Kennedy Center after the pandemic. From the start, I wanted to set the opera in period, as a sort of comedy of manners with a fresh coat of paint. The foibles of the human heart are, of course, evergreen – that is what makes Mozart’s masterpieces so indelible to the spirit.
Our team worked to reveal the core of this notoriously tricky opera by using the misdirection of overt theatricality (including Monty Python-esque projections that reminded us that the audience is always in on the joke) and by sweetening the bitter pill of experience with delicious costumes and lighter-than-air comedy.
