Mozart - Cosi fan tutte (Glyndebourne)

This funny opera by Mozart is about two women whose fidelity is harshly tested. When the two young officers Guglielmo and Ferrando enter a bet with their older friend Don Alfonso, who is of the opinion that women cannot be trusted in matters of love, the three of them come up with a plan. Guglielmo and Ferrando pretend to be called away to the front but return right away, dressed up as Albanians, to seduce their fiancés Fiordiligi and Dorabella. At first the two ladies do not pay the strange gentlemen any attention at all, but gradually they do warm up to them, with all that entails. One of the men starts flirting with the other’s fiancé and they even plan a double wedding! In the end, none of the disguises last and they all decide to go back to the reality of their own lives. And the conclusion? Neither men nor women are capable of staying true to their intended. 

 

Mozart's genius in setting to music Da Ponte's comic play of love, infidelity and forgiveness marks Così fan tutte as one of the great works of art from the Age of Enlightenment. Nicholas Hytner's beautiful production for the Glyndebourne Festival in 2006, displaying his sure touch and theatrical know-how, lives up to its promise to be 'shockingly traditional', while Iván Fischer teases artful performances from an outstanding international cast of convincing young lovers.