opera by Mozart
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Also known as: “Così fan tutte, ossia La scuola degli amanti”
Written by
Linda Cantoni,
Betsy Schwarm•All
Fact-checked by
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Article History
- Italian in full:
- Così fan tutte, ossia La scuola degli amanti (“Thus Do They All, or the School for Lovers”; often translated as “All Women Do the Same”)
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Così fan tutte, comic opera in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart that premiered in Vienna on January 26, 1790. It is the last of his three operas with librettist Lorenzo da Ponte, the first two being The Marriage of Figaro (1786) and Don Giovanni (1787).
Background and context
The storyline of the opera turns on a conceit: two young men, disguised as Albanian princes, wager on whether each can seduce the other’s fiancée. The result gives the opera a title suggestive of both fickleness and betrayal. Both Beethoven and Wagner considered the story of the young men’s scheme to be frivolous and beneath Mozart’s talent—but the judgment of later generations of performers and listeners has been much kinder, and the opera has been widely staged ever after, although Mozart himself was able to perform it a handful of times before his patron, Emperor Joseph II, died and the production was suspended. Although Mozart, desperate for money, wrote the opera quickly, the music displays restraint and balance that are characteristic of Mozart’s late style, and brings forth unexpected psychological complexity and depth of feeling from a stock comedy plot.
Betsy SchwarmCast and main vocal parts
Fiordiligi, a young lady (soprano)
Dorabella, her sister (soprano)
Guglielmo, Fiordiligi’s fiancé (bass)
Ferrando, Dorabella’s fiancé (tenor)
Despina, the ladies’ maid (soprano)
Don Alfonso, an old philosopher (bass)
Soldiers, servants, sailors, townspeople
Setting and story summary
Così fan tutte takes place in Naples around 1790.
Act I
The cynical Don Alfonso makes a bet with Ferrando and Guglielmo that their fiancées, the sisters Dorabella and Fiordiligi, are like all women and cannot be faithful to them. They accept, agree to follow his instructions, and plan how to use their winnings.
Fiordiligi and Dorabella gaze lovingly at the locket portraits of their lovers. Don Alfonso, weeping, arrives and tells them that their fiancés have been called to war. Ferrando and Guglielmo, too, arrive only to bid the sisters a tearful farewell. The sisters and Don Alfonso wish them a safe journey. Don Alfonso denounces the foolishness of founding one’s hopes on a woman.
Despina, the ladies’ clever maid, is surprised to find them grieving at their lovers’ absence. After Dorabella rages at Fate, Despina advises them to enjoy themselves and do what men would do in the same situation: find new lovers.
Don Alfonso, afraid that the shrewd Despina will ruin his plan, promises her a reward if she will help introduce two gentlemen to the ladies. Ferrando and Guglielmo, disguised as Albanian princes, pay homage to Despina, who laughs at them but doesn’t recognize them. The sisters angrily order them out, and when the men declare their adoration, they are outraged. Don Alfonso urges the women to receive his “dear friends” as suitors, but Fiordiligi strongly resists (“Come scoglio”). Guglielmo demonstrates their virtues, especially their moustaches. When the women rush away the men can’t help laughing. Ferrando is certain of the power of love (“Un’aura amorosa”).
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As the ladies grieve for their fiancés, the “Albanians” rush in and take “poison,” blaming the women for their desperation. Despina and Don Alfonso go off to find a doctor. The women timidly approach the men, who fear that pity might turn to love. Don Alfonso returns with Despina, disguised as a doctor, who “treats” the men with a huge magnet invented by the famous Doctor Mesmer. The men awaken and suddenly embrace the women. Despina and Don Alfonso assure the women that it is only the aftereffects of the poison, but when the men demand a kiss, the women repulse their advances, to the men’s delight.
Act II
Despina again tries to convince the women that they should simply enjoy their suitors’ attentions and use their feminine wiles. Dorabella sees no harm in a little flirtation. She chooses the dark-haired suitor (Guglielmo), and Fiordiligi, persuaded, chooses the blond (Ferrando).
The men serenade the women, who encourage the men to speak. The men are suddenly shy, so Don Alfonso and Despina help them out. Fiordiligi and Ferrando go into the garden for a walk. Guglielmo woos Dorabella, who accepts his heart locket in place of Ferrando’s portrait.
Fiordiligi, having rejected Ferrando, is horrified that she is falling in love with him. She begs the absent Guglielmo for forgiveness (“Per pietà”). Ferrando happily tells Guglielmo of Fiordiligi’s faithfulness, but is enraged when Guglielmo shows him the locket. Guglielmo bemoans the ingratitude of women.
Despina congratulates the women on their wisdom, but Fiordiligi is filled with regret. She plans to disguise herself and Dorabella and join the men on the battlefield, but at last she yields to Ferrando’s advances. Don Alfonso advises the angry men to marry the women and accept that all women are like that: “Così fan tutte.” Despina announces that the women are ready for a wedding, and the men reluctantly give in.
At the wedding feast, Despina, disguised as a notary, has the women sign a marriage contract. The sound of a military band throws everyone into a panic, for Ferrando and Guglielmo have returned. The “Albanians” and the “notary” hide. Ferrando and Guglielmo then enter, eager to embrace their “faithful” sweethearts. Guglielmo discovers the “notary,” who, to the women’s surprise, is revealed to be Despina. Ferrando and Guglielmo then “discover” the contract, and in a rage go after their “rivals.” They return dressed as the Albanians. The women—including Despina—are stupefied. Fiordiligi and Dorabella denounce Don Alfonso, who admits the deception but urges forgiveness. The lovers are reunited, and, as everyone extols the virtues of being guided by reason, Don Alfonso collects on his bet, and Despina gets her reward.
Betsy Schwarm Linda Cantoni