Random Opera is set to present a new production of Mozart’s Così fan tutte (Women are Like That, 1790) at the Temple Speech Room in Rugby, Warwickshire, on 11 March.
This retelling of Mozart’s comedy of farce and faithless lovers is set in a Mediterranean beach town. Two soldiers, Ferrando and Guglielmo, are stationed at a nearby army base. They have recently hooked up with two holidaymaking sisters, Dorabella and Fiordiligi, respectively. With both couples declaring undying love for each other, they are now engaged.
The two men are convinced of their fiancées’ fidelity, but local barman Don Alfonso is sceptical, claiming that all women are faithless. They enter into a bet, with Don Alfonso convinced that he can prove within a day that the two sisters are just as fickle as all women.
Ferrando and Guglielmo tell their lovers that have been called off to war, but instead disguise themselves as moustachioed locals and attempt to seduce their own fiancées. Don Alfonso employs the help of barmaid Despina in order to win the bet. But will the two women fall for the deception?
Dublin-born soprano Susie Gibbons is singing the role of Fiordiligi, with British mezzo-soprano Anna Cooper as her sister Dorabella. Their lovers, the soldiers Ferrando and Guglielmo, are sung by Mexican tenor Jorge Carlo Mariani and British baritone Mike Dewis, respectively.
Welsh bass-baritone, and Random Opera’s general director, Richard Tegid Jones plays the part of the dastardly bartender Don Alfonso, with Rugby-based soprano Rebecca Madden as his partner in crime Despina.
This new production is directed by Jones, with London-based repetiteur, conductor, pianist and coach Ashley Beauchamp as musical director and on the piano. The opera is performed in Italian, with English subtitles.
The one-off performance takes place at 6.30pm on 11 March at Rugby’s Temple Speech Room. Tickets are on sale now, costing £20. There are free tickets for the under-25s; Random Opera requests that you bring some ID with you to the performance.
Random Opera commented: “A hilarious farce full of disguise, deception and desire – and some of Mozart’s best music – this comic opera will leave you warm inside even if it’s cold outside.”
Image
Holidaymaking sisters Dorabella and Fiordiligi have their fidelity tested in Random Opera’s new production of Mozart’s Così fan tutte, set to be staged in March.