‘Cosi Fan Tutte’: Maid to Order for Bartoli

The much-anticipated Metropolitan Opera debut of Cecilia Bartoli arrives on PBS tonight, and it’s a treat.

Her vehicle is Mozart’s “Cosi Fan Tutte,” her role, the maid Despina, is usually considered (and treated) as a secondary character, but is here elevated to (at least) equal importance with the other principals. The Roman mezzo-soprano even gets a cute star entrance, towing a huge set on stage single-handedly, grinning and singing the line, “It’s wretched to be a maid.”

That Despina’s prominence in this production is partially accomplished by exaggeration--and even distortion of the letter of the opera--will bother few. In the broadcast (taped last February), this is most readily seen in the camera work, which appears bent on recording every reaction on Despina’s face even when she’s on the sidelines.

And at the show’s end, when the five principals are singing their paean to reason, we are squarely focused on a non-singing Despina, first fear and then shock on her face over being duped. She really isn’t that important here.

Still, it’s impossible to resist the exuberance that Bartoli brings to the undertaking, and she sings to perky perfection. Her comic turns--as the mesmerizing doctor (donning a big nose, Coke-bottle glasses and a fright wig to go with a nasal twang) and the notary (done with an American accent)--are full of youthful verve.

The rest of the cast sparkles too. Carol Vaness, a formidable Tosca at L.A. Opera last month, practically steals the show with her strongly felt and nuanced Fiordiligi (her “Come scoglio”) is especially virtuosic and heroic). Thomas Allen smirks beautifully as the duplicitous Don Alfonso. Susanne Mentzer, Jerry Hadley and Dwayne Croft bring fluency, flair and sensitivity to their roles. Notable as well are the tightness and unselfishness of the cast’s ensemble singing, alive to rhythm, blend and meaning.

Presiding in the pit, James Levine seems to relish every subtle detail of Mozart’s rich orchestration (caught nicely by the miking), the Met Orchestra responding with luxuriously polished yet vital playing. Levine rightly favors a virtually complete “Cosi” --the broadcast lasts well over three hours. So have a cup of coffee, because it’s worth the long haul.

* “Cosi Fan Tutte” airs on KCET-TV Channel 28 at 8 tonight.