Organization

Singer

Soprano

Anett Fritsch

Fiordiligi

Mezzo-soprano

Paola Gardina

Dorabella

Tenor

Juan Francisco Gatell

Ferrando

Baritone

Andreas Wolf

Guglielmo

Kerstin Avemo

Despina

Bass

William Shimell

Don Alfonso

Conductor

Sylvain Cambreling

Till Drömann

Stage director

Michael Haneke

Set designer

Christoph Kanter

Lighting designer

Urs Schönebaum

Chorus master

Andrés Máspero

Costume designer

Moidele Bickel

La Monnaie/De Munt

Teatro Real de Madrid

Others

Coro Intermezzo

Orchestra

Orquesta Sinfónica de Madrid

Italian

Così fan tutte

Madrid

Spain

Teatro Real

Così fan tutte, ossia La scuola degli amanti (All Women Do It, or The School for Lovers), K. 588, is an opera buffa in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. It was first performed on 26 January 1790 at the Burgtheater in Vienna, Austria. The libretto was written by Lorenzo Da Ponte who also wrote Le nozze di Figaro and Don Giovanni.

Although it is commonly held that Così fan tutte was written and composed at the suggestion of the Emperor Joseph II, recent research does not support this idea. There is evidence that Mozart's contemporary Antonio Salieri tried to set the libretto but left it unfinished. In 1994, John Rice uncovered two terzetti by Salieri in the Austrian National Library.

The short title, Così fan tutte, literally means "So do they all", using the feminine plural (tutte) to indicate women. It is usually translated into English as "Women are like that". The words are sung by the three men in act 2, scene 3, just before the finale; this melodic phrase is also quoted in the overture to the opera. Da Ponte had used the line "Così fan tutte le belle" earlier in Le nozze di Figaro (in act 1, scene 7).

Cosi fan tutte by W.A. Mozart, from Teatro Real, Madrid, 2013. Directed by Michael Haneke and Hannes Rossacher, conductor Sylvain Cambreling. Starring Anett Fritsch, Fiordiligi; Paola Gardina Dorabella; Juan Francisco, Gatell Ferrando; Andreas Wolf, Guglielmo; Kerstin Avemo, Despina; William Shimell, Don Alfonso.

FULL Cosi fan tutte Madrid 2013 Fritsch Gardina Gatell Wolf Avemo

The opera, based on a libretto by Lorenzo da Ponte, is a romantic comedy about the complexity of relationships between men and women. With his sensual, spirited and passionate music, Mozart poses fundamental questions about love and brings to the libretto surprising psychological depth and an underlying seriousness not present in the original farce. Michael Haneke created a contemporary staging for the Teatro Real Madrid. The orchestra and chorus of the Teatro Real performed this masterpiece in 2013 under the baton of Sylvain Cambreling. The work features Anett Fritsch, Paola Gardina, Juan Francisco Gatell, Andreas Wolf, Kerstin Avemo, and William Shimell.

Così fan tutte Mozart

Spanish

English

Approved

Production booklet

Further reading