# Mozart's *La Finta Giardiniera*: A Rising Opera Star in Modern Stagings
## The 2014 Lille and Dijon Performances
In March 2014, on the 22nd and 25th, at the Opéra de Lille in France, the French conductor Emmanuelle Haïm led her music ensemble Le Concert d’Astrée in a performance of Mozart’s *La Finta Giardiniera*. Directed by David Lescot, this production boasted a remarkable cast, including Erin Morley as Contino Belfiore and Enea Scala as Marchioness Violante Onesti.
## Mozart's Early Opera
Mozart was only 18 when *La finta giardiniera* premiered in early 1775. Despite his young age, he already had several operas to his name. It would be another six years before his first mature opera, *Idomeneo*, premiered. This opera buffa, with its extravagantly complex plot, was early proof of Mozart's talent for uncovering serious truths beneath a farcical exterior.
## Growing Popularity
In recent years, *La finta giardiniera* has seen a surge in popularity. It has been staged in major operatic centers like Berlin, Moscow, and at the Glyndebourne Festival. In 2015 summer, it will grace the stage at the Santa Fe Opera in New Mexico.
## The Story and Characters
The central character is young noblewoman Violante Onesti, disguised as gardener Sandrina. She's healing from emotional and physical wounds inflicted by former lover Count Belfiore, who's now betrothed to the tempestuous Arminda.
## The 2014 Production Details
In Spring 2014, Haïm conducted her orchestra and a carefully-chosen cast in *La finta giardiniera* in Lille and Dijon. The French newspaper La Croix described it as “three hours of pure happiness”. The video recording from Lille joins Haïm’s Erato DVDs of operas by Monteverdi (*L’incoronazione di Poppea*), Rameau (*Hippolyte et Aricie*), and Handel (*Giulio Cesare*).
### Staging and Design
Lescot's staging offers a contemporary take on the 18th century. Alwyne de Dardel's set designs use plants and shrubs in large pots to evoke a garden; Arminda is symbolized by an oversized Venus Flytrap. Later, the stage transforms into a forest.
### Critical Acclaim
The French music magazine Diapason lauded Lescot as a director who “married word and music”. The UK's Opera magazine praised the production for its “clarity and simplicity”. Enea Scala, Erin Morley, and Marie-Adeline Henry received acclaim for their performances.
**Credits**
- Set designs: Alwyne de Dardel
- Costume designs: Sylvette Dequest
- Lighting design: Paul Beaureilles
- Assistant to the music director: Atsushi Sakaï
- Chorus master: Philippe Grisvard
- Movie director: Jean-Pierre Loisil
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