High-class lowbrow fun

<p>To win a bet, two young men test their fiancees' loyalty by leaving town and then returning in disguise.</p><p>In a twist worthy of TV's silliest sitcom or reality show, the two masqueraders wind up wooing each other's betrothed instead of their own.</p><p>But this isn't television. It's opera.</p><p>Mozart's "Cosí Fan Tutte," packed with just as much slapstick, highjinks and mistaken identity as any screwball comedy, combines beautiful music with easily accessible entertainment.</p><p>Skilled singers, backed by a relatively small but powerful orchestra, show a flair for comic acting that makes the current Cinnabar Theater production a clear success. Any performer who can skip around and make funny faces, and stay in character while singing a demanding aria, deserves respect.</p><p>The four romantic leads -- Anders Froelich and Will Hart Meyer as our heroes, Guglielmo and Ferrando, and Lara Bruckmann and Julia Ulehla as giggling sisters Fiordiligi and Dorabella -- all act ably and sing beautifully.</p><p>Much of the show's sly, slightly naughty comedy comes from William Neely as Don Alfonso, the cynic who bets the fiancees will be unfaithful, and Valentina Osinski as their devious maid Despina. Their performances are smooth and assured.</p><p>Don Alfonso contends that while women may be delightful, a fellow really can't trust any of them to be true. His skeptical philosophy is celebrated in the opera's title. Translated literally, "Cosí Fan Tutte" means "Thus Do They All" -- the "all" in this case being feminine.</p><p>The opera, by the way, is sung in English, so don't bother brushing up on your Italian.</p><p>Stage director Elly Lichenstein and music director Nina Shuman have done a dazzling job of pacing this production. The opening night performance ran just a bit over three hours, and didn't seem that long. The running time reportedly has been trimmed since then.</p><p>Dedicated to staging the great operas on a community theater budget, the Cinnabar has learned to split the different by hiring imported principal players as needed and carefully coaching its chorus, recruited closer to home.</p><p>Cinnabar has rarely fielded a better chorus. The singers play their characters, as various townsfolk, as accurately as they hit their notes.</p><p>The Cinnabar stage is not vast, but set designer Sharlyn Klein's clever use of curtains and sliding screens allows quick changes that drastically transform the scenery.</p><p>Costume designer Lisa Eldredge deserves high marks for outfits that make the nobles look convincingly rich and the peasants look authentic. Best of all are the comic disguises for Guglielmo and Ferrando, making them resemble refugees from a psychedelic production of "Pirates of Penzance." These silly duds suit the show's mood perfectly.</p><p>Cinnabar's "Cosí" offers a rare chance to enjoy lowbrow comedy and high-class music at the same time.</p><p>You can reach Staff Writer Dan Taylor at 521-5243 or dan.</p><p>taylor@pressdemocrat.com.</p>