From the Salzburg Festival: "Il sogno di Scipione" (Scipio's Dream) by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, conducted by Robin Ticciati, directed by Michael Sturminger. With Blagoj Nacoski (Scipione) Louise Fribo (La Constanza), Bernarda Bobro (La Fortuna), Iain Paton (Publio), Robert Sellier (Emilio), Anna Kovalko (La Licenza), the Chorus of the Klagenfurt Municipal Theater and the Carinthian Symphony Orchestra. The genre of "Il sogno di Scipione" hovers between opera seria and oratorio. Devoid of psychological development or even dramatic conflict, it centers on Scipio, who dreams of two beautiful allegorical women: Fortuna (Fortune) and Costanza (Constancy). The two women both try to win him over. Ultimately, Scipio has to choose one, and his choice falls, unsurprisingly, on Costanza. Based on a libretto by Pietro Metastasio, like "Betulia liberata," "Tito" and "Il re pastore," the azione teatrale was composed between April and August 1771. Although it was intended for Archbishop Schrattenbach, he died before the work was completed. Director Michael Sturminger has devised a light and witty staging. He transposes the action to what looks like a large suite in a luxury hotel. Gone are all traces of pallid allegory in the depictions of the two women: Fortuna is a vamp and seductress in revealing dresses; Costanza is the sensible housewife and mother who, however, hasn't forgotten how to turn on her man. To help guide Scipio back on the path of virtue, Sturminger has Costanza trot out the couple's two cute little children... Musically, the work flickers with flashes of genius that prefigure the later operatic master. Already self-confident in his treatment of emotions, Mozart relishes his chance to formulate breathtaking vocal fireworks as his protagonists grapple with lust, desire and virtue.