In his first official role for State Opera South Australia, artistic director Dane Lam will conduct Mozart’s comic opera Così fan tutte at Her Majesty’s Theatre later this month.
The famous Mozart/Da Ponte operatic rom-com sees cynical bachelor Don Alfonso place a bet with his friends, Guglielmo and Ferrando, that their girlfriends, sisters Fiordiligi and Dorabella, will not remain faithful in the face of temptation. So begins the farcical story about love, loss, loyalty and passion.
Lam, who was appointed to the artistic director role with State Opera last September, likens this contemporary Opera Queensland production to a combination of HBO series The White Lotus and reality-TV show Love Island, thanks to the dark comedy storyline, Amalfi Coast resort setting and sensual, seductive action.
“This production from Opera Queensland took this very messy game of love between the men and the women, that’s meant to be set in 18th-century Naples, and transplanted it closer to our time, keeping the southern Italian setting as its jumping-off point,” Lam says.
This contemporary Opera Queensland production of Così fan tutte is set on the Amalfi Coast. Photo: Jade Ferguson, Visual Poets Society
“It’s funny, because White Lotus is really ridiculous. People act out in ways that they normally wouldn’t act out at home. You know, it’s hot, people are on holidays, and so inhibitions are lost in a way, and people really misbehave in a way that’s not normal in their everyday lives. And so that’s why this resort setting on the Amalfi Coast is perfect.
“There is also a real heat and sensuality to the setting and the music, and it really brings it out. So I do think that for people who do enjoy comedy, who enjoy shows like White Lotus, who just love beautiful music and fantastic singing, this is the perfect show for them.
“It has all this imagery that is reminiscent of season two of White Lotus, and the shenanigans that go on. And with the two friends comparing the virtues of their respective girlfriends, it was very reminiscent of Love Island. So these two kind of rolled into the one thing and it really does transplant this timeless story of human nature into our time. It just contextualises it in a way that all of us can identify with.”
Acclaimed Australian director Patrick Nolan, CEO and artistic director of Opera Queensland, will make his Adelaide debut with Così fan tutte, which premiered in Brisbane last year with set design by Elizabeth Gadsby and lighting design by Bernie Tan-Hayes.
Lam says the cast has a local flavour, with former Adelaide soprano Sky Ingram, whose career has taken her to Europe, making a “triumphant homecoming” as Fiordiligi , and baritone Nicholas Lester, who has also performed around the globe, taking to the stage as Guglielmo.
Mezzo-soprano Anna Dowsley stars as Dorabella in the opera rom-com. Photo: Jade Ferguson, Visual Poets Society
Tenor Kyle Stegall (singing Ferrando) is a new Adelaide resident, having moved here from the United States with his wife Holly Piccoli, a violinist with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra.
“And then we’ve got Anna Dowsley [Dorabella], who is, in my opinion, one of Australia’s great mezzo-sopranos,” Lam says. “We’ve worked together a lot. She brings such style, such panache, an incredible voice to the role.”
Così fan tutte also stars Jessica Dean as Despina, and baritone Christopher Hillier in the role of the philosopher Don Alfonso.
“He really is the instigator of all the trouble,” says Lam, who has conducted this opera several times over his career.
Samantha Clarke in the Opera Queensland production of Così fan tutte. Photo: Jade Ferguson, Visual Poets Society
The 39-year-old conductor is currently dividing his time between Adelaide and the United States, where he is music director of the Hawai’i Symphony Orchestra. Lam has also been principal conductor and artistic director of China’s Xi’an Symphony Orchestra since 2014 and will continue there in an advisory role.
He and his wife, operatic soprano Sofia Troncoso, and baby Frankie, flew into Adelaide a couple of weeks ago in the lead-up to Così fan tutte.
“Frankie has done this flight three times now and he’s not even 11 months yet,” says Lam, adding that he plans to be on the ground in Adelaide more next year.
“This year, I’m conducting one of our three main-stage productions. Next year I hope to conduct two, so that’s two-thirds of the season I’ll be here for, plus I’m here for every opening night, I’m here for planning, I’m here to meet our various stakeholders and governments and philanthropy, to meet our audiences. So, it’s going to be a pretty even split between here in Hawaii.”
Since taking up the role at State Opera SA, Lam has made a few changes, including implementing family-friendly initiatives for the company.
“We really are wanting the State Opera to be an artist-friendly company, to be a family-friendly company,” he says. “Since I’ve started, we’ve instituted this family-friendly scheduling, which I think is the first of its kind in Australia.”
He explains that opera companies traditionally send out their schedules a week in advance, and then they can be subject to change at any time within 24 hours.
“Just speaking as a father and as somebody who has a life, it makes it very difficult to book a doctor, a dentist appointment or work out when you can go to your pilates class or whatever. So, we have made it incumbent upon the creatives, on the director and the conductor, to release schedules six weeks in advance, not to say there cannot be flexibility, but it means that the artists will have a framework of what their life is going to look like, so people can plan. It’s simple but it makes a big difference to people’s lives.”
Lam says the 2025 program for State Opera, which will be launched later this year, will include “fantastic collaborations”, and new productions that will tour Europe and Asia.
“I can’t say what the titles are, but ’25 is looking to be a really excellent year,” he says.
“There are going to be Chinese and Australian collaborations coming out of Adelaide, which I think is really important… because it is one of our closest regional neighbours, with a big opera and classical music industry. I think it’s fantastic that we can compare notes, work together, share ideas, share artists.”
For now, Lam is looking forward to bringing Così fan tutte to the stage and says over the course of his career he has had “a close relationship with Mozart”.
State Opera artistic director Dane Lam. Photo: supplied
“I just love Mozart because often people think he should be handled with kid gloves; he’s always spoken of in these revered tones, of being so sublime, the closest composer to the divine, and there’s truth in all of that,” he says. “But he was also a human being and he loved dirty jokes, he loved to poke fun. And I tried to bring that out when I performed Mozart, to bring out the humanity, to bring out some of the wicked humour that is embedded all throughout. I mean, he was a very modern man, ahead of his time, and certainly the greatest composer at translating human emotions and drama into the music.
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“This music has stood the test of time, for hundreds of years, for a reason, because it does really speak to us in our contemporary setting, in our contemporary world; people are welcome from all walks of life.
“I love walking into the theatre and seeing young people, seeing students, people dressing up, or people dressing down – it really doesn’t matter. We’re all just there to share this communal experience and I think in this world, there are very few experiences where we get together and sit shoulder to shoulder with people and have this visceral experience of music literally washing over us in an acoustical way. There’s no amplification at all. It is a supremely human experience.
“I suppose people do get it from sport, you know, sitting shoulder to shoulder and barracking for a team, but there is something really unifying about coming together for a musical event because we’re all on the same team.”
Così fan tutte will be at Her Majesty’s Theatre from August 29 until September 7.
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