
Così fan tutte 2007
Will they or won’t they?
Two cocky young men test the fidelity of their fiancées, with unexpected results, in Mozart’s profoundly human comedy.
Synopsis
Act I
The sisters Fiordiligi and Dorabella are engaged to two young men, Guglielmo and Ferrando, respectively. The men have an older friend, Don Alfonso, who bets that he can get their sweethearts to fall in love with someone else. Ferrando and Guglielmo take him up on his wager, agreeing to do whatever he tells them. Don Alfonso enlists the help of Despina, the women’s maid, who is just as worldly-wise as he is. The men enter and tell their sweethearts they have joined the army and must leave. After a tearful farewell, in which everyone promises to be faithful, the men return, disguised as dashing “Albanians,” and proceed to court each other’s fiancée. The women at first reject them, prompting them to fake their suicides. Despina, disguised as a doctor, “cures” them and the women begin to show some interest in their exotic admirers.
Artists

Susanna Phillips
Soprano
Fiordiligi

Katharine Goeldner
Mezzo-Soprano
Dorabella

Norman Reinhardt
Tenor
Ferrando

Mark Stone
Baritone
Guglielmo

Dale Travis
Bass-baritone
Don Alfonso

Susanne Mentzer
Mezzo-soprano
Despina

William Lacey
Conductor

James Robinson
Director

Allen Moyer
Scenic Designer

David C. Woolard
Costume Designer

Duane Schuler
Lighting Designer

Gregory Buchalter
Chorus Master