The final performance of Mozart's masterpieces in the series of great "Da Ponte" operas will be Così fan tutte, after The Marriage of Figaro and Don Giovanni have already been presented on stage in the past ten years.
Così fan tutte, which literally translates as "This is how everyone does it", marks the end of the composer's collaborative opera series with librettist Lorenzo da Ponte and is one of Mozart's most controversial works. At the time of its composition, the opera was criticized for its cynical and satirical view of relationships between men and women and was considered risky and vulgar. The plot, in which two men test the fidelity of their lovers, was developed at the suggestion of Emperor Joseph II, who is said to have heard of a similar incident among aristocratic officers in Vienna. The libretto was also defended by the romantic Ernest Theodor Amadeus Hoffmann, who praised it as an "expression of the funniest irony".
Mozart's late musical style, characterized by restraint and balance, lends the comedic work emotional depth. Characteristic of Mozart's great operas, "Così fan tutte" also displays a specific style, characterized by a unique ironic humour. Particularly noteworthy is the precedence of the ensemble passages over the arias, which unfolds the comedy as a play between three groups: the two women, their fiancées and the comic protagonists Alfonso and Despina.
The opera premiered in Vienna on 26 January 1790, but after only four performances and the death of the emperor, all theaters were closed in mourning. In Ljubljana, audiences experienced the opera in the 1796/1797 season, and the last premiere on this stage took place on April 17, 1991 under the direction of Vito Taufer.
In a current production, Così fan tutte will be presented at the SNG Opera in balet in cooperation with the Croatian National Theatre Zagreb under the direction of Alessio Pizzech.
Premiere May 23, 2024
Further performances: May 24, 25, 28 and 30, June 7 and 8, 2024
