Così fan tutte

Come back to the mischief!

A quirky comedy about two men as naughty as Mozart himself… and the women who teach them a lesson.

The follies and foibles of young love are on full display in this timeless comedy of (bad) manners. Encouraged by a cynical old bachelor, a simple bet becomes hilariously complex when young lovers don disguises, aiming to trick their fiancées into infidelity. Will these “new suitors” be successful in their wooing? And if they are – who wins?

This gloriously passionate romp brims with some of the sweetest music Mozart ever wrote, as clumsy romancers get cozy with catastrophe.

Join Robert Holliston in the West Lobby one hour before each performance for a pre-show lobby talk!

This show is a coproduction between Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, Pacific Opera Victoria, théâtre de Caen, Tokyo Nikikai Opera Foundation.
Created on March 9, 2022 at Théâtre des Champs-Elysées.

“Miraculous music didn’t prevent the 19th century from finding Così trivial and contrived. In the 20th, gradually the sense that this may be the most profound of Mozart’s Italian comedies gained the upper hand. There are certainly many deeply insightful moments throughout, including the pain of personal betrayal; the character development of soprano and tenor is as humanly real as anything in Mozart, and the conundrum of the finale, unresolved in either text or music, makes a cliched lieto fine (happy ending) unthinkable. Strauss loved Così more than anything in the world of music. Not hard to understand why.”
– Timothy Vernon, Founding Artistic Director

Synopsis

Act I

Two young soldiers, Ferrando and Guglielmo, are arguing with their older friend Don Alfonso, who insists that women are by nature incapable of fidelity. The boys insist that their own fiancées would never betray them. Don Alfonso proposes a wager: if the boys agree to follow his instructions for the next 24 hours, he will prove that their fiancées are no different from other women.

Fiordiligi and Dorabella are extolling the virtues of Guglielmo and Ferrando when Don Alfonso arrives to tell them that their betrothed must immediately depart for war. The young men arrive and the two couples bid each other a tearful farewell. Despina, the sisters’ maid, advises her mistresses to amuse themselves with other available men – after all, that’s what the boys will be doing! Scandalized, the sisters leave the room.

Don Alfonso bribes Despina to admit two foreign suitors (the disguised Guglielmo and Ferrando) into the house. Fiordiligi and Dorabella are alarmed to find two strange men in their home, and horrified when the two men offer protestations of love. Don Alfonso pretends the men are old friends of his, and implores the sisters to be civil.

The sisters are lamenting the departure of their fiancés when the two “strangers” barge in and swallow what seems to be poison. A doctor (Despina in disguise) arrives to revive the two afflicted suitors who then vow their love to the vexed sisters with ever greater passion.

Act II

Fiordiligi and Dorabella are persuaded by Despina to indulge in a bit of innocent flirtation. Dorabella chooses the brunet (Guglielmo) while Fiordiligi prefers the blond (Ferrando).

Guglielmo woos Dorabella, who surrenders surprisingly easily: Fiordiligi resists Ferrando … until she can’t. Don Alfonso, having won his wager, orders the two young men to conclude the experiment with a fake wedding. He tries to console them with his motto: “Così fan tutte” – Thus Do All Women

The wedding is interrupted by a military chorus which signals the “return” of Ferrando and Guglielmo. The suitors and notary (again Despina in disguise) hide, as the boys appear in uniform. Discovering the marriage contract and the notary, they swear vengeance, but the ruse is revealed and nothing remains but for the lovers to follow Don Alfonso’s advice to forgive and forget.

More on Così fan tutte

Read our opera KeyNotes, including a look at the scale model of the set here!

Watch Inside Opera Online to learn a little (or a lot) more about Mozart’s timeless comedy, Così fan tutte.