The season's Mozart opera is Così fan tutte, subtitled 'school for lovers.' Two young, deeply in love couples, convinced of each other's eternal fidelity, are put to the test in a comedy filled with many twists, bets, disguises, deceptions, and the most wonderful music.
Following the recent productions of The marriage of Figaro and Don Giovanni, now comes the third opera in the legendary collaboration between Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and librettist Lorenzo da Ponte; Così fan tutte. It is one of Mozart's final works and is often described as the perfect ensemble opera with six, essentially equivalent, roles.
Surprisingly Modern
Così fan tutte, written in 1790, is a surprisingly modern opera. In the 1800s, the plot was considered highly inappropriate, leading to several different versions with entirely new texts. However, none matched the original, and in the 1900s, the original version began to be performed again.
Drama at IKEA
In the production staged at Malmö Opera, the setting has been brought to the present day. When the curtain rises, we find ourselves at IKEA – a place where dreams of the perfect life are awakened, and quite a bit of drama unfolds between the shopping couples.
Many of them discover that the dream displayed in the furniture store's showroom quickly turns into harsh reality and frustration as soon as they get home: the manual is unclear, the Allen wrench is missing, and two screws are absent. A bit like putting together a love relationship, actually. But somehow, you usually manage to assemble that sofa in the end.
Plot Summary
Alfonso works at IKEA. After many years on the job, he has become cynical. He is tired of all the young people walking around with blue and yellow bags and happy smiles, hand in hand with their future exes. So, he decides to challenge some of them.
Together with colleague Despina, he bets with two young men, Ferrando and Guglielmo, that their girlfriends, Dorabella and Fiordiligi, would easily be seduced by others. The men accept the bet – their girlfriends would, of course, never be unfaithful!
From IKEA, we follow the young couples on a turbulent journey, where they discover that the love they thought was forever can be unscrewed. But perhaps it can also be screwed back together.
Danish Director
The production has previously been performed at the opera in Oslo and is directed by Katrine Wiedemann. She is one of Denmark's leading names in film and theater direction with a multitude of awards and productions to her credit.
