Così fan tutte, ossia la scuola degli amanti

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Così fan tutte, ossia la scuola degli amanti (Women are all the same, or The School for Lovers). Opera in 2 acts by Mozart (K588, 1789) to lib. by da Ponte. Prod. Vienna 1790, London 1811, NY 1922. History of this opera is of special interest. Today it is regarded by many critics as Mozart's greatest and was a success at its first appearance, being repeated 10 times in 1790 and perf. at Prague, Dresden, Leipzig, and Frankfurt before Mozart died. After about 1830 it became a rarity for about 60 years, when it was re-est. through the advocacy of R. Strauss, Mahler, and, later, Beecham. This neglect may have been because the plot was considered (by Beethoven among others) to be immoral, but a mus. reason may have been that the chief sop. role of Fiordiligi was long regarded as unsingable: it was written for Adriana del Bene who was a brilliant high coloratura but also commanded a very low register. The opera requires carefully rehearsed ens. work.