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Opera Title: Così fan tutte, ossia La scuola degli amanti
Composer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Libretto: Lorenzo Da Ponte
Premiere: 26 January 1790, Vienna (Burgtheater)
Language: Italian
Synopsis: https://www.opera-arias.com/mozart/cosi-fan-tutte/synopsis/
Characters & Interpreters:
Fiordiligi: Gundula Janowitz
Dorabella: Christa Ludwig
Ferrando: Luigi Alva
Guglielmo: Hermann Prey
Despina: Olivera Miljakovic
Don Alfonso: Walter Berry
Conductor: Karl Böhm
Orchestra: Wiener Philharmoniker
Chorus: Wiener Philharmonia Chor
Recorded: 1970
Così fan tutte, ossia La scuola degli amanti, K. 588, is an opera buffa in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
Mozart and Da Ponte use the theme of "fiancée swapping", which dates back to the 13th century; notable earlier versions are found in Boccaccio's Decameron and Shakespeare's play Cymbeline. Elements from Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice and The Taming of the Shrew are also present. Furthermore, it incorporates elements of the myth of Procris as found in Ovid's Metamorphoses, vii.
Place: Naples
Time: the 18th century
ACT I
Ferrando and Guglielmo are convinced of the fidelity of Fiordiligi and Dorabella, the two sisters to whom they are betrothed. Don Alfonso, on the other hand, claims all women are fickle and wagers that he can prove it. The young men agree to take Alfonso's test, and he tells the sisters that their husbands-to-be have been enlisted into the army. Once the men have departed, the sisters' maid Despina is persuaded by Alfonso to introduce two young Albanian friends (Ferrando and Guglielmo in disguise) to Fiordiligi and Dorabella. Each "stranger" then begins to court the other's fiancée, and they begin to make progress after pretending to take poison. Despina disguises herself as a doctor and successfully cures the Albanians.
ACT II
When Ferrando learns that Dorabella has yielded to Guglielmo, he becomes yet more determined to win Fiordiligi's heart. Eventually, she too succumbs and a double wedding is planned - with Despina, again in disguise, as the notary. Just as the army is heard returning, the Albanian newlyweds disappear and Ferrando and Guglielmo appear in their place. Producing the marriage contract, they remonstrate with the sisters, who soon confess their deceit. After paying Alfonso his wager, Ferrando and Guglielmo forgive Fiordiligi and Dorabella.
