Despina (Cosi Fan Tutti) - Age Appropriate?

[Imchristine4real]

Posted: 12/20/06 at 4:28pm

I was wondering if Despina (Cosi Fan Tutti) is age appropriate for college student who looks very young (say 15-16) ? The only reason I’m asking is that my teacher had me sing two of her arias. I did a search for the opera online, and only one site mentioned her age. But it said that Despina was supposed to be 60-70! So I don’t know what to think. Am I making a big deal of nothing? Has anyone seen a production? Thanks for the help!
Christine

[hannahshule]

Posted: 12/20/06 at 5:19pm

With classical music, it's more about the voice type and quality than the age. If you feel that Despina isn't a good role for you, talk to your teacher about it. However, since you're in college, and your teacher did choose it for you, she must have a good reason.

[Imchristine4real]

Posted: 12/20/06 at 5:33pm

That's what I thought, so I didn't press the matter.
I LOVE the song and it's very "me", so I guess I won't worry.

[hannahshule]

Posted: 12/20/06 at 5:47pm

Have fun with it! I didn't really like that opera until a few months ago, and I must say that it's growing on me now! As far as productions go, I personally feel that the best is the Cecilia Bartoli version, as it has three strong female leads (in my opinion anyway).

Updated On: 12/20/06 at 05:47 PM

[bwaylvsong]

Posted: 12/20/06 at 11:05pm

When I saw it at the Met, Despina was about 30 or 40.

[Chrismas42]

Posted: 12/20/06 at 11:46pm

Despina is a character part which is why I think they tend to cast it older a lot of the time.

When we did it our Despina actually looked younger than our Fiordigili or her sister... I can't remember her name..

[Garland Grrrl]

Posted: 12/21/06 at 12:55pm

i always thought Despina was a sexy soubrette character. not a teenager, but certainly not a dowager. i guess she could go either way. what fun music!