SO DOES EVERYONE.

Dramma giocoso in two acts by Lorenzo da Ponte, K 588

The latest fruit of Mozart and Da Ponte’s collaboration no longer pits classes, sexes and generations against each other as in The Marriage of Figaro, nor a rebellious individual against the whole of society as in Don Giovanni. Così fan tutte (1790) focuses on self-discovery, the unconscious, illusions, morality, reason and nature. The disguises and exchanges of couples orchestrated by the philosopher Don Alfonso lay bare the souls, desires, and feelings of Dorabella, Fiordiligi, Guglielmo, and Ferrando. Unmasking female infidelity seems but a pretext, especially since the plot is aided and abetted by the maid Despina, a sly voice of nature who defends women’s right to pleasure. However, when the status quo is recomposed by affirming that it is good to be guided by reason and to know how to laugh at “that which soles others make cry” nothing can ever be the same again. The play has an ending as ambiguous as its unfolding: the philosopher’s cynicism triumphs, but at great cost, and eros becomes intertwined with pathos.