In his final comic opera, Mozart pokes fun at love
Così fan tutte is Mozart’s final comic opera, written in collaboration with Lorenzo da Ponte. Two officers test their fiancées’ faithfulness by disguising themselves and attempting to seduce each other’s beloved. The opera mocks the ideal of eternal love and fidelity, showing that people act according to human feelings and desires. Although it was once controversial because of its seemingly misogynistic message, it is now also admired for its musical coherence and refined composition.
Playlist
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Così fan tutte, K. 588:
- Overture
- “Bella vita militare”
- “Signora Dorabella, Signora Fiordiligi – In uomini, in soldati sperare fedeltà?”
- “Un’aura amorosa”
- “Prenderò quel brunettino”
- “Il core, vi dono”
- “Per pietà, ben mio, perdono”
- Act II finale
Performers
Amanda Roocroft, Fiordiligi
Rosa Mannion, Dorabella
Rodney Mannion, Guglielmo
Rainer Trost, Ferrando
Eirian James, Despina
Carlos Feller, Don Alfonso
The Monteverdi Choir and The English Baroque Soloists, conducted by John Eliot Gardiner
