Così fan tutte (1977)

Scene I. The curtain rises on a heated argument between two ardent young men- Ferrando and Guglielmo- and the wealthy, worldly-wise, cynical old Don Alfonso.

Of course their beloved Fiordiligi and Dorabella are not like other girls .. . and what did he mean by saying that none of them can be trusted in matters of the heart . . .? A bet perhaps? But they have to keep the secret and do as they are told during the testing period . . .

The bet is accepted.

Scene II. Meanwhile the girls, eulogizing the charms of their handsome lovers, would seem to be weighing the odds against Don Alfonso…who enters breathless and the young men are called away to their regiment and have to leave at once…

Amid tears and protestations of eternal love, the parting is made with exhortations for a safe journey…constancy would seem never more triumphant.

Don Alfonso leaves us in no doubt that he thinks otherwise.

Scene III. The girls’ maid, Despina, making their morning chocolate, has to listen to ardent expressions of despair at separation. Tiring of it, she advises the girls to amuse themselves in other directions…after all, their young men are away and they need cheering up. She gets a flea in her ear for her pains as the girls leave in shocked indignation.

Don Alfonso and Despina are old friends and he comes now to seek her help. For a small consideration she is persuaded to urge the attentions of two delightful young men recently arrived from abroad- Albania is the chosen country. Ferrando and Guglielmo enter suitably disguised, and as the girls return, the men express their admiration with unmistakable intent- each for other’s lover.

Horrendous scenes of outraged modesty and assaulted honor are somewhat mollified by Don Alfonso’s claiming that the Albanians are old friends and perfectly respectable. Nevertheless, the girls remain firm as rocks in their professions of constancy and, at Guglielmo’s further insistence, retreat in confusion, leaving the men convulsed with laughter.

Don Alfonso is then offered a release from the bet for half payment- but he declines, holding everyone to the terms. Fer- rando is left well satisfied with his beloved’s faithfulness.

Scene IV. The girls, still inconsolable, are further alarmed by the sudden appearance of the foreigners, who, protesting their unrequited passions, swallow what is alleged to be arsenic and collapse in front of them.

Despina and Don Alfonso are dispatched in search of a doctor, while the girls give some embarrassed consolation to the inert- but secretly very amused- patients.

Compassion begins to overcome prudery and when Dr. Mesmer’s disciple (Despina in disguise) effects a miraculous cure through the magic properties of mesmerism, the girls find that their obvious relief and concern have only served to incite the Albanians to further protestations of love.

Although these are resisted as vociferously as ever, we begin to suspect that perhaps the fury may cover the beginning of a very different feeling.

Scene I. Despina continues to urge the girls towards more liberal conduct- there is, after all, no danger; and from the age of fifteen, it should be a principle of womanly conduct to exercise charm- discreetly, of course.

Left to their own company, the girls admit there could be no harm in a little innocent flirtation and each selects her Albanian; it is clear that they in no way resemble either in looks or character their own absent loves. Nor do they, for they have swapped partners.

Scene II. The Albanians have arranged an alfresco party for the girls, but, now that a flirtation has become a possibility, it needs the contrived efforts of Don Alfonso and Despina to see that the newly assorted couples adhere to the rules of the game so that causes may be pleaded.

Guglielmo makes his protestations to Dorabella. To his astonishment, he finds that she soon yields and consents to exchange lockets as a token of their new love.

Ferrando does not fare so well with Fiordiligi. She dismisses him abruptly, and only when alone does she confess the strength of her new feelings for him, asking her distant lover to forgive her faithlessness.

When the two young men meet to compare notes, Guglielmo is not the least surprised to hear of Fiordiligi’s apparent constancy; but Ferrando is overcome with anguish and despair when his friend produces Dorabella’s locket and tells of her unfaithfulness.

Scene III. Don Alfonso and Guglielmo hide to watch Ferrando’s final assault on Fiordilici’s constancy. She confides her new love, to Dorabella, who urges her to yield .. . to resist love is only to court misery .. . but Fiordiligi is still afraid and begins a plan for them both to dress as soldiers and follow their former loves. Ferrando surprises her. At last her resistance fails- to the extreme anger of Guglielmo and the delight of Don Alfonso. He has won his bet- and was, after all, right…Cosi Fan Tutte

Act II, Scene IV. The wedding of the new lovers is under way. The old notary (once again Despina in disguise) reads the marriage contract but, at the moment of signature, a roll of drums announces the return of the army.

The Albanians rush off and barely manage to return as their former selves in time to catch the girls at their wedding feast.

Deception is at an end. Disguises, tricks, wagers, failures and frailties are confessed. There is nothing for it but for the lovers to follow Don Alfonso’s advice to forgive each other and try to make amends, all a little wiser for the lessons learned and the wager lost.