Così fan tutte
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| Operas by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart |
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Die Schuldigkeit des ersten Gebotes (1767) |
Così fan tutte, ossia La scuola degli amanti (Thus Do They All, or The School For Lovers) K. 588, is an opera buffa by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The libretto was written by Lorenzo da Ponte.
Così is one of the three Mozart operas for which da Ponte wrote the libretto. (The title is often shortened to Così in the English-speaking world.) The other two da Ponte-Mozart collaborations were Le nozze di Figaro and Don Giovanni.
Così was written and composed at the suggestion of the Emperor Joseph II. The libretto was originally intended to be set to music by Mozart's contemporary Antonio Salieri but Salieri only completed parts of the first act and then broke off work on the opera.
The title, Così fan tutte, literally means "Thus do all [women]" but it is often translated as "Women are like that". The words are sung by the three men in Act II, Scene xiii, just before the finale. Da Ponte had used the line "Così fan tutte le belle" earlier in Le nozze di Figaro (in Act I, Scene vii).
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[edit] Performance history
The first performance of Mozart's setting took place at the Burgtheater in Vienna on January 26, 1790.
The subject matter (see synopsis below) did not offend Viennese sensibilities of the time, but throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries it was considered risqué. The opera was rarely performed, and when it did appear it was presented in one of several bowdlerised libretti.
After World War II, it regained its place in the standard operatic repertoire. It is frequently performed and appears as number fifteen on Opera America's list of the 20 most-performed operas in North America[1].
[edit] Roles
| Role | Voice type | Premiere Cast, January 26, 1790 (Conductor: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart) |
|---|---|---|
| Fiordiligi | dramatic coloratura soprano | Adriana Ferrarese |
| Dorabella, ladies from Ferrara and sisters, living in Naples | lyric mezzo-soprano | Louise (Luisa) Villeneuve |
| Guglielmo | lyric baritone | Francesco Benucci |
| Ferrando | tenore di grazia | Vincenzo Calvesi |
| Despina, a maid | soubrette | Dorotea Bussani |
| Don Alfonso, an old philosopher | basso buffo | Francesco Bussani |
| Chorus: soldiers, servants, sailors | ||
While the use of modern fach titles and categories has become customary, it should be noted that Mozart was far more general in his own descriptions of voice type: Fiordiligi (soprano), Dorabella (soprano), Guglielmo (bass), Ferrando (tenor), Despina (soprano), Don Alfonso (Bass).[2]
[edit] Synopsis
Mozart and Da Ponte took as a theme "fiancée swapping" which dates back to the 13th century, with notable earlier versions being those of Boccaccio's Decameron and Shakespeare's play Cymbeline. Elements from Shakespeare's 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.
[edit] Act 1
In a coffee shop, Ferrando and Guglielmo (two officers) claim that their fiancées (Dorabella and Fiordiligi, respectively) will be eternally faithful. Don Alfonso joins the discussion and lays a wager with the two officers, claiming he can prove in a day's time that these two women (like all women) are fickle. The wager is accepted: the two officers will pretend to have been called off to war; soon thereafter they shall return in disguise and attempt to seduce each other's lover. The scene shifts to the two women (they are sisters) who are praising their men. Alfonso arrives to announce the bad news: the officers have been called off to war. Ferrando and Guglielmo arrive, brokenhearted, and bid farewell (quintet: Sento, o Dio, che questo piedo è restio—"I feel, oh God, that my foot is reluctant"). As the boat with the men sails off to sea, Alfonso and the sisters wish them safe travel (trio: Soave sia il vento—"May the wind be gentle"), then Alfonso, left alone, rails against the fickleness of women (arioso: Oh, poverini, per femmina giocar cento zecchini?—"Oh, poor little ones, to wager 100 sequins on a woman").
The scene shifts to a room in the sisters' home. Despina, their maid, arrives and asks what is wrong. Dorabella bemoans the torment of having been left alone (aria: Smanie implacabili—"Torments implacable"). Despina mocks the sisters, advising them to consider new lovers over old lovers (aria: In uomini, in soldati, sperare fedeltà?—"In men, in soldiers, you hope for faithfulness?"). After they depart, Alfonso arrives upon the scene. He fears Despina will recognize the men through their disguises, so he bribes her into helping him win the bet. The two men then arrive, dressed as mustachioed Albanians. The sisters enter and are alarmed by the presence of strange men in their home. The Albanians attempt to win over the sisters, Guglielmo going so far as to point out all of his manly attributes (aria: Non siate ritrosi—"Don't be shy"), but to no avail (aria: Come scoglio—"Like a rock"). Ferrando, left alone and sensing victory, praises his love (aria: Un'aura amorosa—"A loving breath").
The scene shifts to a garden, with the sisters still pining. But Despina has asked Don Alfonso to let her take over the seduction plan—and suddenly, the Albanians burst in the scene and threaten to poison themselves if they are not allowed the chance to woo the sisters. As Alfonso tries to calm them, they drink the poison and pass out. Soon thereafter, a doctor arrives on the scene (Despina in disguise), who, through use of a large magnet (see animal magnetism), is able to revive the Albanians. The revived men, hallucinating, demand a kiss of the goddesses who stand before them. The sisters refuse, even as Alfonso and the doctor (Despina) urge them to acquiesce.
[edit] Act 2
The act opens in the sisters' bedroom, with Despina urging them to succumb to the Albanians' overtures (aria: Una donna a quindici anni—"A fifteen year old woman"). After she leaves, Dorabella confesses to Fiordiligi that she is tempted, and the two agree that a mere flirtation will do no harm and will help them pass the time while they wait for their lovers to return (duet: Prenderò quel brunettino"—"I will take the dark one").
The scene shifts to the garden, where Dorabella and the disguised Guglielmo pair off, as do the other two. The conversation is haltingly uncomfortable, and Ferrando departs with Fiordiligi. Now alone, Guglielmo attempts to woo Dorabella. She does not resist strongly, and soon she has given him a medallion (with Ferrando's portrait inside) in exchange for a heart-shaped locket (duet: Il core vi dono—"I give you my heart"). Ferrando is less successful with Fiordiligi (Ferrando's aria: Ah, lo veggio—"Ah, I see it," and Fiordiligi's aria: Per pietà, ben mio, perdona—"Please, my beloved, forgive"), so he is enraged when he later finds out from Guglielmo that the medallion with his portrait has been so quickly given away to a new lover. Guglielmo at first sympathises with Ferrando (aria: Donne mie, la fate a tanti—"My ladies, you do it to so many") but then gloats, because his betrothed is faithful.
The scene changes to the sister's room, where Dorabella admits her indiscretion to Fiordiligi (È amore un ladroncello—"Love is a little thief"). Fiordiligi, upset by this development, decides to go to the army and find her betrothed. Before she can leave, though, Ferrando arrives and continues his attempted seduction. Fiordiligi finally succumbs and falls into his arms (duet: Fra gli amplessi—"In the embraces"). Guglielmo is distraught while Ferrando turns Guglielmo's earlier gloating back on him. Alfonso, winner of the wager, tells the men to forgive their fiancées. After all: Così fan tutte—"All women are like that."
The final scene begins as a double wedding for the sisters and their Albanian grooms. Despina, in disguise as a notary, presents the marriage contract, which all sign. Directly thereafter, military music is heard in the distance, indicating the return of the officers. Alfonso confirms the sisters' fears: Ferrando and Guglielmo are on their way to the house. The Albanians hurry off to hide (actually, to change out of their disguises). They return as the officers, professing their love. Alfonso drops the marriage contract in front of the officers, and, when they read it, they become enraged. They then depart and return moments later, half in Albanian disguise, half as officers. Despina has been revealed to be the notary, and the sisters realize they have been duped. All is ultimately forgiven, as the entire group praises the ability to accept life's unavoidable good times and bad times.
(Plot taken from The Opera Goer's Complete Guide by Leo Melitz, 1921 version.)
[edit] Noted arias & musical numbers
- "Vorrei dir, e cor non ho" - Don Alfonso in Act I, Scene II
- "Soave sia il vento" - Alfonso, Dorabella & Fiordiligi in Act I, Scene II
- "Smanie implacabili" - Dorabella in Act I, Scene III
- "In uomini, in soldati" - Despina in Act I, Scene III
- "Non siate ritrosi" - Guglielmo in Act I, Scene III
- "Come scoglio" - Fiordiligi in Act I, Scene III
- "Rivolgete a lui lo sguardo" - Guglielmo in Act I, Scene III
- "Un'aura amorosa" - Ferrando in Act I, Scene III
- "Una donna a quindici anni" - Despina in Act II, Scene I
- "Ah lo veggio" - Ferrando in Act II, Scene II
- "Donne mie, la fate a tanti" - Guglielmo in Act II, Scene II
- "Per pietà" - Fiordiligi in Act II, Scene II
- "Tradito, schernito" - Ferrando in Act II, Scene II
- "Tutti accusan le donne" - Don Alfonso in Act II, Scene III
- "È amore un ladroncello" - Dorabella in Act II, Scene III
[edit] Selected recordings
[edit] Media
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Così fan tutte act II - No. 19 aria - una donna a quindici anni Performed by the Skidmore College Orchestra. Courtesy of Musopen Così fan tutte Act II - No. 26 aria - Donne mie la fate a tanti Baritone and keyboard reduction - Problems playing the files? See media help.
[edit] References
- ^ OPERA America's "The Top 20" list of most-performed operas
- ^ As evidenced by Baerenreiter's critical editions of the opera and corresponding articles in The New Grove Dictionary of Opera
[edit] In popular culture
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Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones. |
- The detective novel Cosi Fan Tutti (note masculine plural ending to the noun) by Michael Dibdin is based around a parodically distorted version of the characters and plot of the opera.
- Così fan tutte is also the title of an erotic comedy film by Tinto Brass, released in Britain and North America as All Ladies Do It.
- The play Così, written by playwright Louis Nowra, features mental patients acting this opera.
- In Richard Adams' novel Watership Down, two lines from this opera were used as an epigraph at the start of chapter 15: "The Story of the King's Lettuce"
- In Russian culture the names of Dorabella and Fiordiligi are symbols of incoherence, incontinuity, inconsequency. For example, Russian economist Said Gafourov calls his rather boring article on mathematical methods of forecasting of securities markets Cosi fan tutte in Equity Research / "Rymok Cennykh Bumag" ("Russian securities) №24/1997. In his recent article "Who'd bear to hear the Gracchi chide sedition?" APN 30 July 2007 he makes an analogy of historical continuity of British Foreign Policy, Tony Blair, Gordon Brown and behaviour of Dorabella and Fiordiligi.
- The pop music group Squeeze released an album in 1985 entitled Cosi Fan Tutti Frutti, an obvious reference to the opera.
[edit] External links
- Così fan tutte: Score and critical report (German) in the Neue Mozart-Ausgabe
- Complete libretto
- Full score
- "Mozart at the Met", Time, 7 January 1952
