A reimagining of Mozart鈥檚 comic opera 鈥淐os矛 fan tutte鈥� as a socially distanced 1950s-era American sitcom will be livestreamed worldwide Nov. 4 and 5 by the Wanda L. Bass School of Music at 野狼社区 University.
The opera will be compressed to 90 minutes, without intermission, and performed in English to a virtual audience. Two separate casts will perform at 8 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday on OCU鈥檚 historic Kirkpatrick Stage.
Free access to the global livestream is available through tiny.cc/basslivestream.
The plot 鈥� encompassing love, faithfulness, forgiveness, mistaken identities and a bet gone awry 鈥� will unfold as performers remain masked and maintain a separation of at least 10 feet.
The COVID-19-mandated parameters inspired guest director Matthew Sipress, an OCU alumnus and company manager for Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma, to reimagine an updated setting for the opera鈥檚 classic hijinks, disguises, mistaken identities and romance.
鈥淚 thought to myself, 鈥榳hen was a period in time when intimacy meant something different?鈥� or 鈥榳hen was a period in time when intimacy was portrayed to the masses in a different way?鈥欌�� Sipress said. 鈥淎nd I thought of 1950s television.鈥�
Specifically, he thought of the world of the 1950s CBS sitcom 鈥淚 Love Lucy.鈥�
鈥淪ubstitute Dorabella and Ferrando for Ethel and Fred, Gugliemo and Fiordiligi for Ricky and Lucy, move them from 18th century Naples to 1950s [America], throw in a disguise or two and you've got it, more or less,鈥� The Washington Post wrote in a 1983 review of similar staging. 鈥淓veryone fools and everyone is fooled. Things are not always what they seem, and they are also exactly that.鈥�
The OCU cast features Viviana Goodwin and Nadjalie Santos as Fiordiligi; Rebecca Hundley and Sadie Koopman as Dorabella; 脕nh-Mai Kearney and Delaney Kinney as Despina; Jason Gonzales Larsen and Adam White as Ferrando; Collin Ellsbury and Paul Gutman as Guglielmo; and Jackson Buhr as Don Alfonso.
Music director Jan McDaniel and graduate student Rachel Whatley will perform the score on twin grand pianos.
The 鈥淚 Love Lucy鈥�-meets-Mozart production features set design by Jason Foreman, lighting design by Landry Strickland, costumes by Gabriela Bastidas and props by Katelyn Walp. Stage manager Eliana Perez is assisted by Keegan Johnston and Abbey Helfan.
鈥�Cos矛 fan tutte鈥� made its debut in Vienna 230 years ago, on Jan. 26, 1790. It is the third of three collaborations between Mozart and librettist Lorenzo da Ponte, following 鈥溾�� (1786) and 鈥溾�� (1787).
OCU鈥檚 award-wining Oklahoma Opera and Music Theater Company opened its 69th consecutive season earlier this month with the collegiate premiere of 鈥淢onty Python鈥檚 Spamalot: Socially Distant Concert-ish Version.鈥� The company鈥檚 spring 2021 season will be announced in the weeks to come.
For additional 2020-21 performances at the Bass School of Music, visit www.okcu.edu/music or .
