Così fan tutte

Così fan tutte, roughly translated as “they are all like that,” tells the story of sisters Fiordiligi and Dorabella facing the conundrum of remaining faithful to their lovers Guglielmo and Ferrando. Our production updates the setting from the 1790s to a Rocky Mountain resort in the 1930s. The sisters arrive for their vacation. They cast eyes upon, and promptly fall for, two dashing young mounties. Exasperated and charmed by the couples mooning around the hotel, resort staffer Despina teams up with long-term resident Don Alfonso to play a double trick on them, testing both the depth of their affections and their assumptions about their own motivations. The story walks the tightrope between Opera Seria (serious plots) and Opera Buffa (comedic plots) and Mozart takes full advantage of these moods weaving his music between the two contrasts throughout. Flighty and fickle? Faithful and true? One could argue that couples must discover their balance to know their future. While a happy ending is never guaranteed, these lovers throw themselves into the discovery with flirtation and fun, while also questioning what motivates their true desires.