It only turned out that this production of Cosi had been set into a hotel on the Riviera at the onset of WWI, instead of the traditional foothills of the Vesuvio. The change actually makes sense for many reasons. The off-stage reason is that the Opera is a co-production with the Monte-Carlo Opera. On stage, the character of Don Alfonso, traditionally a philosopher, is now a croupier. Since he displays a hefty dose of cynicism and misanthropy, we prefer to believe he would not have been that great of a philosopher anyway. And the ominous background of WWI does explain that cynicism and the desperate frivolity of the main protagonists. The ending, in this WWI context, invites the spectator to reflect back on the whole opera in a different light.

Pictures Terry McCarthy for the SF Opera