A frothy comedy of manners with an intensely dark take on human nature.
A scene from Cosí fan Tutte at The Metropolitan Opera Photo: Marty Sohl/The Metropolitan Opera
Sunday 6 May at 6.00pm on RNZ Concert
Metropolitan Opera 2018 Season
MOZART: Così fan tutte
Fiordiligi..................... Amanda Majeski
Dorabella..................... Serena Malfi
Ferrando...................... Ben Bliss
Guglielmo................... Adam Plachetka
Despina........................ Kelli O’Hara
Don Alfonso................ Christopher Maltman
Metropolitan Opera Chorus and Orchestra/David Robertson (EBU)
A scene from Cosí fan Tutte at The Metropolitan Opera Photo: Marty Sohl/The Metropolitan Opera
The original opera is set in Naples. With its natural beauty and abundant sunshine, the city became the equivalent of a tourist destination in the 18th century. It has been suggested that the preponderance of woodwinds in the score is meant to evoke the breezy atmosphere of the seashore.
The librettist Lorenzo Da Ponte (1749–1838) led an adventurous life in Venice and Vienna. He supplied librettos for the prominent composers of his time, including Antonio Salieri, and collaborated with Mozart on his greatest operatic achievements, including Così fan tutte, Le Nozze di Figaro, and Don Giovanni. Da Ponte migrated to America and eventually settled in New York, where he was granted the first Chair of Italian at Columbia College (now University).
A scene from Cosí fan Tutte at The Metropolitan Opera Photo: Jonathan Tichler/Metropolitan Opera
The third and final collaboration between Mozart and Da Ponte is a fascinating paradox: a frothy comedy of manners with an intensely dark take on human nature; an old story (it has antecedents in Boccaccio, Shakespeare, and Cervantes, among others) with a startlingly modern tone; and a beautiful score depicting questionable behaviour.
A scene from Cosí fan Tutte at The Metropolitan Opera Photo: Marty Sohl/The Metropolitan Opera
Così fan tutte was only moderately successful at its première and remained just outside the standard repertoire for more than a century. Così still poses unique challenges, and correspondingly unique rewards, for the public today. Every possible impression of love—from the loftiest to the basest—is explored in this extraordinary opera.
A scene from Cosí fan Tutte at The Metropolitan Opera Photo: Marty Sohl/The Metropolitan Opera
In this production, Phelim McDermott’s clever vision of Mozart’s comedy about the sexes is set in a carnival-esque, fun-house environment inspired by 1950s Coney Island - complete with bearded ladies, fire eaters, and a Ferris wheel.
