Così fan tutte

 

28, 29, 30, 31 AUGUST & 1 SEPTEMBER 2012
Baxter Theatre Rondebosch

Cape Town Opera in collaboration with the UCT Opera school presents

Mozart’s

Così fan tutte

“You ask for my heart in vain; I no longer own it”

Mozart’s most sophisticated Italian comedy returns in a thought-provoking new staging

Beethoven complained that the libretto was immoral. Wagner disliked the music. Widely misunderstood for generations after Mozart’s death, Così fan tutte is increasingly admired as one of his most unsettling and sophisticated masterpieces. Profound pain, betrayal and sadness show through the cracks in the surface of this brittle comedy, set to some of Mozart’s most sublime music, as two lovers assume disguises to test the constancy of their fiancées.

A new production by director Matthew Wild and designer Tina Driedijk will throw a startling new light on this complex work, while Kamal Khan puts the brightest young talents of the UCT Opera School through their paces in the exquisite arias and ensembles of this extraordinary score.

Musical quotations

Mozart borrowed the theme for the overture to his opera from a moment in one of his previous collaborations with the great librettist Lorenzo da Ponte, Le nozze di Figaro. The tune belongs to the music teacher Don Basilio, who witheringly proclaims “Così fan tutte le belle!” – “This is how all beautiful women are!”


CONDUCTOR Kamal Khan
DIRECTOR Matthew Wild
ORCHESTRA University of Cape Town Symphony Orchestra
SET/COSTUME DESIGNER Tina Driedijk
LIGHTING DESIGNER Kobus Rossouw

Cast List

Fiordiligi - Hlengiwe Mkhwanazi,  Nomsa Mpofu
Dorabella - Zolina Ngejane,  Monique Weich,  Vasti  Knoesen
Despina - Janel  Speelman,  Marie-Claire de Villiers,  Noluvuyiso Mpofu                                                    
Ferrando - Kwakhanya Mavuka,  Siphesihle Mdena
Guglielmo - Riaan Hunter,  Johannes Slabbert,  Lizo Tshaka
Alfonso - Phelo Nodlayiya,  Siyabulela Ntlale
Chorus - Nokwanda Bovana,  Emily Dangwa,  Carmen Kinsey
Kristin Peterssen,  Danielle Speckman,  Aureana Wagenstroom
Thobela Ntshanyana,  Xolani Madalane,      Lizo Tshaka
Raimando van Staden,  Bongani Kubheka,  Neil Barry Moss
Sandile Sikhosana,  Ivana Merkel

Cosi fan tutte cast photoshoot on Sea Point beachfront July 2012.

If the central fidelity experiment plotline once struck audiences as implausible, it seems all-too-familiar in the era of reality television - a particularly brash director might stage the opera as an extended episode of Temptation Island, The Ultimate Love Test or Cheaters[1]. The reality TV resonances are unavoidable as we sit in the darkened auditorium, giggling and gasping with car-crash fascination at Cosí’s particular brand of emotional pornography, as two young couples are subjected to extreme and unnecessary emotional torture. The comparison with trash television must end, though, when Mozart’s contribution is taken into account – eons away from anything starring a Kardashian, Cosí serves up a profound exploration of some of our darkest fears about  love, sex, fidelity and marriage – and poses difficult questions about the likelihood of mating (happily) for life.

Concessions:

Pensioners & students: 50% discount on the day of the show with ID at the venue

Block bookings: 10% discount for groups of 8 or more

Schools (ages 5 to 21): 50% discount on the day of the show with ID

Cast subject to change without prior notification

Patrons are kindly reminded to switch off their cellular telephones during performances

The use of cameras or recording equipment is not allowed during the performance

Please note casting and dates are subject to change without prior notice