Opera Scotland

Così fan tutte 2008Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama (RSAMD)

Read more about the opera Così fan tutte

Over recent years, Ashley Dean has directed a fair range of Mozart operas, usually with success. The musical side is usually strong, as the students nearly all have an excellent grounding in Mozartian technique and style nowadays, and the orchestral playing can be delightful. Here they even managed to field two casts.

This particular opera must be deceptively difficult to bring off with student performers - four of the characters are the right age, but the emotional depth needed in an intelligent staging is often difficult even for experienced performers. And the two older characters can sometimes present unexpected problems when the players look that bit younger.