If the theme in Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro was about the marital infidelity of men, his companion opera buffa, Così fan tutte, is about the infidelity of women.:)
Così fan tutte, which loosely translated means “All women are alike”, is one of Mozart’s four most widely performed and recorded operas, though funnily I never really got round to listening to the composition proper until several years into my listening and acquiring classic music. My induction to Mozart’s operas started with Don Giovanni (a key scene of which was in Amadeus), then Le Nozze di Figaro, then Die Zauberflöte and finally Così fan tutte.
What’s the story in Così? Well two fellows who’re madly in love with their fiancees, two sisters, make a bet with a wizened and experienced gentleman who insists that all women are fickle. As the bet goes, the two fiances insist that their lovers will remain true, but will be required to test their lovers by pretending to leave to go to war, yet return disguised as mustachioed Albanians and attempt to lead the two sisters astray into new marriages.
Like Figaro, this is a comedic opera; there’s a happy ending and no one dies. Yep, nothing like Puccini’s stuff where you’d be lucky to spot any of the key characters still standing by the end. As to whether the two sisters remain true to their their fiances, well, you’ll have to listen to the opera to find out, or if not, check out the entry on Wikipedia haha.
The nearly 3 hour long composition comprises recitatives, arias, and a very large number of duets / trios / quartets / quintets. If fact, as I remember it, the number of group pieces outnumber those in Mozart’s other operas, which make for very interesting scenes where a lot of things are going on at the same time.
Unlike Figaro though I haven’t acquired nearly as many recordings of Così, as I enjoy the music in the former more than the latter. Still, I recently picked up an English recording of Così under the baton of Sir Charles Mackerras and have been enjoying it thoroughly in nightly listenings.:)
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