Così fan tutte

Listen to the Music & Opera playlist : 

Dramma giacoso (joyful drama) in two acts, sung in Italian to a libretto by Lorenzo da Ponte.

The first performance took place at the Burgtheater in Vienna on 26 January 1790. Based on a true story, Mozart and his librettist Da Ponte drew their inspiration from many sources, including Neapolitan opera buffa. 
Light-hearted characters, saucy plots, the games of love, fidelity and false pretence are the theme of Così fan tutte, halfway between drama and comedy. The music accompanies the plot with finesse and subtly follows the performers, giving them virtuoso arias. A brilliant comedy that puts the composer at the top of his game.

A philosophical old bachelor makes a bet with two young officers on the fidelity of their betrothed. With the help of the girls' maid, he sets up an ambush. The two lovers, taking advantage of a supposed absence, show up in disguise and each courts the other's fiancée, putting them to the test. The two girls give in more or less easily. 

And so they all do! But it all ends in reconciliation and two weddings, with the bitter taste of illusions lost forever...