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L Y R I C O P E R A O F C H I C A G O
February 17 - March 16, 2018
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21
Così fan tutte
Synopsi
s
TIME:
August 1914
PLACE:
A hotel at a Mediterranean resort
ACT ONE
Don Alfonso is trying to enlighten
Ferrando and Guglielmo as to the true
nature of women. He places a bet that he
can prove their fiancées, Fiordiligi and
Dorabella, are not the icons of purity the
men believe them to be. Both sides are
confident of victory within twenty-four
hours.
Sisters Fiordiligi and Dorabella are
celebrating the perfection of their lovers.
Don Alfonso arrives and tells them that
their men have been called up and must
leave immediately for the battlefront. The
men enact a farewell scene and “go off to
war.” The women are devastated, but the
maid Despina tells them to look on the
bright side and have a good time in their
absence – in other words, behave exactly
as men would.
Don Alfonso and Despina work
together to this end. Don Alfonso
introduces two Albanian friends whom
Despina in turn introduces to the sisters.
None of the three women penetrate the
disguises of Ferrando and Guglielmo.
Fiordiligi and Dorabella are
offended to see the strange men and
repelled by their advances. They declare
fidelity to their lovers. The young men
are delighted, but Don Alfonso is quite
relaxed.
The sisters continue to grieve. The
two rejected strangers return to them,
swallow “poison” and collapse. The
terrified girls call for Despina, who goes
with Don Alfonso to find a doctor.
Fiordiligi and Dorabella try to help the
“dying” strangers. Don Alfonso returns
with Despina disguised as a doctor who
claims to cure everything by magnetism.
The men revive, and believing they are
in heaven, demand a kiss from their
“angels” Fiordiligi and Dorabella. The
sisters manage to resist again.
ACT TWO
Despina persuades the sisters to befriend
their new admirers. They decide on
preferences — Dorabella chooses
Guglielmo; Fiordiligi, Ferrando. Each has
instinctively chosen the other’s partner.
Don Alfonso and Despina cement the
new love affairs in the context of a
masquerade. The couples pair up and
Dorabella yields to Guglielmo. Fiordiligi
rejects Ferrando, for the time being.
Ferrando and Guglielmo exchange
notes on their progress. Ferrando is
furious, and Guglielmo is triumphant
but brutally dismissive of the fallen
Dorabella.
Despina and Dorabella put pressure
on Fiordiligi. Fiordiligi decides she must
run away to join Guglielmo at war, but
Ferrando confronts her again and she too
yields. Agonized, Guglielmo witnesses
it all. Don Alfonso has proven his point
and won the bet.
Don Alfonso and Despina arrange
for the new couples to be “married” by
Despina disguised as a notary. As the
girls sign their names, a military band
is heard. Apparently the soldiers have
returned unexpectedly. In the confusion,
the two men disappear, re-emerging
without their disguises. Shocked at
the evidence of a wedding they swear
vengeance on their rivals.
The plot is revealed. All four lovers’
certainties have been destroyed. No one
quite knows what to feel, except that
certainly human nature has been at work.
(
Synopsis reprinted by permission of San
Francisco Opera
.)
COSÌ FAN TUTTE
– Approximate Timings
ACT ONE 90 minutes
Intermission
30 minutes
ACT TWO 85 minutes
Total: 3 hours and 25 minutes