W.A. Mozart. Women are like that, or The School for Lovers

A story of love and infidelity in Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's opera buffa "Cosi fan tutte" staged by the Berlin State Opera.

Antonio Salieri was the first to receive the commission for this opera, but he soon abandoned it after starting work. In August 1789, the commission for the opera came to Mozart. The customer was Emperor Joseph II, a great admirer of the opera "The Marriage of Figaro". Mozart was offered a fee of 200 gold ducats, and the composer was forced to accept the offer. His wife Constanze was ill, and the family was under the pressure of debt. The libretto was written by Lorenzo da Ponte based on a true event that had taken place shortly before in Vienna.

In December 1789, Mozart invited his friend Joseph Haydn to his home, and they held a "dress rehearsal at home". On January 26, 1790, the performance was presented to the general public. However, the reviews of the opera were not very enthusiastic. Only after the composer's death, the opera was performed on the best stages of the world and captivated the audience.

Young officers Guglielmo and Ferrando are in love with two sisters - Fiordiligi and Dorabella. Their friend, the old cynic Don Alfonso, does not believe in the fidelity of women and offers to put their lovers to the test on a bet. The lovers say goodbye to each other in tears.

Don Alfonso, having enlisted the support of the sisters' maid Despina, brings young Albanians to the girls' house, who are actually Guglielmo and Ferrando in disguise. They begin to "court in reverse": Guglielmo - for Dorabella, Ferrando - for Fiordiligi. The sisters throw them out in anger. They do not leave the girls alone. Pretending to be dying, they demand immediate help in the form of a kiss. However, the deception is revealed, and Don Alfonso is defeated again.

Left alone with each other, the girls confess to Despina that they like the young men. Despina persuades them to go on dates - why waste their youth, because their fiancés are unlikely to remain faithful to them in the war. During a walk in the park, Guglielmo declares his love for Dorabella, and she accepts his love. But Fiordiligi continues to wait for her fiancé, Ferrando's confessions are rejected. Fiordiligi is ready to flee the city from her feelings, but at the last moment she gives in to Ferrando's persistence. The girls agree to get married today and follow the "Albanians" to their homeland. Disguised as a notary, Despina signs the marriage contracts, but at that moment the sounds of a military march are heard. The "Albanians" disappear, and the fiancés "who have returned from the war" appear. Having seen the contracts, they accuse their lovers of infidelity, but Don Alfonso, who does not wish harm to the young, reconciles them, claiming that “all women do this” and the best way to keep a beloved is not to part with her.

PERFORMERS:

Fiordiligi, a lady from Ferrara living in Naples, Dorabella's sister - Dorothea Röschmann

Dorabella, a lady from Ferrara living in Naples, Fiordiligi's sister - Katharina Kammerlocher

Guglielmo, an officer, Fiordiligi's lover - Hanno Müller-Brahmann

Fernando, an officer, Dorabella's lover - Werner Gyura

Despina, Fiordiligi and Dorabella's maid - Daniela Bruera

Don Alfonso, an old philosopher - Roman Trekel

Berlin State Opera Orchestra and Chorus

Conductor - Daniel Barenboim

Chorus Master - Eberhard Friedrich

Production - Doris Dörri

Berlin State Opera, Berlin, 2002