Music: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Libretto: Lorenzo da Ponte

Premiere: Vienna, January 26, 1790
 

Mozart's final comic opera, Cosi fan tutte, a laughing look at the twists and turns of romantic love, was originally attacked for portraying faithless women. Some early performances were even accompanied by apologies for the frivolous plot. The story begins in a Neapolitan café, where two young men, Ferrando and Guglielmo, argue with the older and more skeptical Don Alfonso that their fiancées, the sisters Fiordiligi and Dorabella, would never betray them. Aided by Despina, the sisters' maid, the men hatch a plot to test the women's loyalty. They disguise themselves as soldiers and woo each other's lovers, managing through various tricks to win over the initially reluctant women. As deeper feelings surface, however, the suitors become uneasy with their antics, and once the deception is unmasked, the four reunite, though who pairs up with whom remains a mystery.