'La finta giardiniera' from The Mozartists

Mozart La finta giardiniera (concert performance, Bärenreiter edition, ed. Angemüller/Berke). Soloists; The Mozartists / Ian Page. Cadogan Hall, 25.03.2025  

Sandrina Ava Dodd  

Don Anchise Michael Ball 

Count Belfiore Hugo Brady 

Arminda Camilla Harris 

Ramiro Laura Fleur 

Serpetta Milly Forrest 

Nardo Jerome  Knox 

What a silly opera! But a wonderful one. Mozart’s La finta giardiniera, K 196 was premiered in January 1775, and was a success; The libretto is by Giuseppe Petrosellini (1727-99). The story comes with some pre-curtain action: around a year earlier, Count Belfiore stabbed his beloved, he Marchioness Violante Onesti in a fit of jealousy. He believed he killed her; but she is somehow miraculously fine and with her servant Roberto (Nardo above) has set off in pursui of the Count. They get jobs as gardeners to the local mayor (or ‘Podestà’), renamed as Sandrina (Violante) and Nardo. The Podestà now loves Sandrina (but in another early pre-curtain twist the count’s maid, Serpetta, also fancies him).  

And that’s before the curtain even rises. Some productions act out the stabbing (as David Lescot’s does, available freely on DVD/Bluray and conducted by Emmanuelle Haïm). No miming here, but Ian Page and his Mozartists’ performance of the Overture had drama aplenty; and how Page brought out the counterpoint in the score. And the opening ensemble (Podestà, Ramiro his house guest and servants Serpetta, Sandrina and Nardo) set the scene for an opera which, while stuffed with individual arias aplenty, came across as a combined effort. Emotions are wildly scattered to the winds: the Podestà excited about his wedding, Ramiro devastated by his beloved Arminda’s abandonment, Sandrina upset by the Podestà’s admiration. It would take far too long to describe each individual offshoot of this mélange, but together they certainly sustain the near three-hour opera. Perhaps one should mention the Belfiore-Arminda-Ramiro (the last a rejected beau, still keen). 

Throughout, Page sought out the interest in Mozart’s deft orchestral writing. This is far from the Mozart of the mature operas, but there are pre-echoes aplenty; flashes of what is to come. But perhaps that approach is unhelpful; an alternative is to enjoy the piece for what is, and somehow that just enriches the score. Suffice it to say that at the close, the time had flown by, and my spirit was decidedly elevated. 

There is no chorus, and ensembles are rare, so the onus on a concert staging is to avoid a stand-and-deliver sequence of arias. This was managed by each character full inhabiting heir dramatic personae, despite limited-to-zero acting. That all succeeded is testament. To the choice of singers, which I assume is down to Ian Page. Page is known to discover and encourage young talent, and this was a veritable cornucopia.  

The titular character, Sandrina, was taken by Ava Dodd, whose light soprano was perfect for the role. Her early ‘Moi donne poverine’ was a delight but also gave hints of deeper emotions to follow, all which she was fully equipped for. I loved Dodd’s Rosina Barbiere at ENO, standing in at the last minute for Anna Devin, and I said at the time I looked forward to encountering her again. Look no further; and a great future surely is ahead of her. 

Tenor Hugo Brady, as Count Belfiore, was another stand-out, confident and ardent; he was formerly in love with Sandrina but now betrothed to Arminda. It’s obviously a night for former stand-ins to shine in their own right, for previously I enjoyed Brady in a Mozartist Jommelli evening where he replaced tenor Stuart Jackson (review). On the lower part of the female voice range but both singing a trouser role and clad in such as a clue for the plot-bemused in the audience, Laura Fleur brought her rich mezzo to a role that holds much depth. Fleur was Lady Fortune in the 2022 Guildhall production of Judith Weir’s opera Miss Fortune (my review appeared in Opera Now); Fleur also impressed in Guildhall’s Cendrillon (by Pauline Viardot) and in part of a Guildhall quintruple opera evening in The Apothecary.  

Serpetta, Don Anchise’s maid, was brilliantly taken by soprano Milly Forrest, acerbic and confident throughout. It is Nardo who gets to have a bit of linguistic fun though, and baritone Jerome Knox seem to relish singing Italian, French and, yes, English in one aria. Knox, winner of the 2020 Handel Singing competition, is more than a one-trick (albeit trilingual) pony though: his firm tone, superb pitching and superb sense of style made on sit up and take notice. Knox was one of the Princess (Afron) in ETO’s superb production of Rimsky’ s The Golden Cockerel (which I caught at Hackney Empire in 2022: review here) and of all the singers here I expect him to go from strength to strength. 

Camilla Harris was a fine Arminda, not the most rewarding of roles perhaps but one she absolutely made the most of; she was a lovely Countess Figaro at HGO in 2021 (review). And finally, Michael Ball as Don Anchise, was tremendously characterful.  

A tremendous evening; one fervently hopes for a recording. And an absolute privilege to be part of these young singers’ carer trajectories. A wonderful evening. 

Here's the DVD/Bluray I mentioned on Amazon. This is.link to the Bluray (which is actually cheaper than the DVD!)