The opera was rarely performed, and when it did appear it was presented in one of several bowdlerised versions.Īfter World War II it regained a place in the standard operatic repertoire and is now frequently performed. The subject matter (see synopsis below) did not offend Viennese sensibilities of the time, but in the 19th and early 20th centuries was considered risqué, vulgar, and even immoral. Knowing her idiosyncratic tendency to drop her chin on low notes and throw back her head on high ones, Mozart filled her showpiece aria 'Come scoglio' with constant leaps from low to high and high to low in order to make Ferrarese's head 'bob like a chicken' onstage. Īccording to William Mann, Mozart disliked prima donna Adriana Ferrarese del Bene, da Ponte's arrogant mistress for whom the role of Fiordiligi had been created. Così fan tutte was not performed in the United States until 1922, when it was given at the Metropolitan Opera. The first British performance was in May 1811 at the King's Theatre, London. After that it was not performed in Vienna during Mozart's lifetime. It was performed twice in June 1790 with the composer conducting the second performance, and again in July (twice) and August (once). It was given only five times before the run was stopped by the death of the Emperor Joseph II and the resulting period of court mourning. The first performance of Mozart's setting took place at the Burgtheater in Vienna on 26 January 1790. Da Ponte had used the line 'Così fan tutte le belle' earlier in Le nozze di Figaro (in act 1, scene 7). The words are sung by the three men in act 2, scene 3, just before the finale this melodic phrase is also quoted in the overture to the opera. It is usually translated into English as 'Women are like that'. The short title, Così fan tutte, literally means 'So do they all', using the feminine plural ( tutte) to indicate women.

In 1994, John Rice uncovered two terzetti by Salieri in the Austrian National Library. There is evidence that Mozart's contemporary Antonio Salieri tried to set the libretto but left it unfinished. The libretto was written by Lorenzo Da Ponte who also wrote Le nozze di Figaro and Don Giovanni.Īlthough it is commonly held that Così fan tutte was written and composed at the suggestion of the Emperor Joseph II, recent research does not support this idea. It was first performed on 26 January 1790 at the Burgtheater in Vienna, Austria. 588, is an opera buffa in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Così fan tutte, ossia La scuola degli amanti ( All Women Do It, or The School for Lovers), K.

Cosi e la vita imobile