Così fan tutte Is March 31, 2018, Met Opera Saturday Matinee Broadcast

Summary: The March 31, 2018, Met Opera Saturday matinee broadcast is Così fan tutte by Classical Era composer Wolfgang Mozart.

Wolfgang Mozart's Così fan tutte, upated to 1950s Coney Island, is the Met Opera Saturday matinee broadcast March 31, 2018: The Wall Street Journal @WSJ, via Twitter March 19, 2018

Così fan tutte, a two-act opera about a daylong wager on female fickleness by Classical Era composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Jan. 27, 1756-Dec. 5, 1791), is the March 31, 2018, Metropolitan Opera Saturday matinee broadcast.

Italian librettist Lorenzo Da Ponte (March 10, 1749-Aug. 17, 1838) wrote the Italian libretto. He previously collaborated as Mozart’s librettist for Le Nozze di Figaro (1786) and Don Giovanni (1787).

The literary influences for Da Ponte’s libretto include Italian Renaissance writer Giovanni Boccaccio’s Decameron (ca. 1349-1353) and Elizabethan playwright William Shakespeare’s Cymbeline (ca. 1611) and The Taming of the Shrew (ca. 1590-1592).

Così fan tutte premiered Jan. 26, 1790, at Burgtheater, in Vienna, eastern Austria. Maria Theresa (May 13, 1717-Nov. 29, 1780), the only female ruler and also the final ruler of the Austrian House of Habsburg, founded the imperial court theater during the War of the Austrian Succession (Dec. 16, 1740-Oct. 18, 1748). Burgtheater opened March 14, 1741, in a building adjoining the Hofburg, the Habsburg dynasty’s imperial palace, at Michaelerplatz.

Two earlier Mozart operas also premiered at Vienna’s Burgtheater. Die Entführung aus dem Serail’s premiere took place July 16, 1782. Le Nozze di Figaro premiered May 1, 1786.

Eleven performances of Così fan tutte are scheduled for the 2017-2018 Met Opera season. Opening night, Thursday, March 15, 2018, at 7:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time marks the opera’s 188th performance at the Metropolitan Opera. The month’s four additional performances take place Tuesday, March 20, at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, March 24, at 8 p.m.; Tuesday, March 27, at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday matinee broadcast March 31, at 1 p.m.

Six performances are scheduled for April, beginning Wednesday, April 4, at 7:30 p.m. The month’s five additional performances take place Saturday, April 7, at 8 p.m.; Tuesday, April 10, at 7:30 p.m.; Friday, April 13, at 8 p.m.; Monday, April 16, at 7:30 p.m.; closing night Thursday, April 19, at 7:30 p.m. Closing night marks the 198th performance of Così fan tutte at the Metropolitan Opera.

Estimated run time for the two-act opera is 3 hours 31 minutes. Act I is timed for 89 minutes. An intermission of 30 minutes follows the first act. The second and final act runs for 92 minutes.

David Robertson conducts all performances of Così fan tutte. His birthplace is Santa Monica, western Los Angeles County, Southern California. The American conductor debuted Jan. 11, 1996, in the Metropolitan Opera’s premiere performance of The Makropulos Case by Czech composer Leoš Janáček (July 3, 1854-Aug. 12, 1928).

Amanda Majeski appears in all performances, including the March 24 Saturday matinee broadcast, as Fiordiligi, one of two sisters whose fickleness is wagered. Her birthplace is Gurnee, Lake County, northeastern Illinois. The American operatic soprano debuted Sept. 22, 2014, as Countess Almaviva in the Metropolitan Opera’s 459th performance of Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro.

Serena Malfi appears in all performances, including the March 24 Saturday matinee broadcast, as Dorabella, who is the first sister to favor harmless flirtations in their fiancés’ absence. Her birthplace is Pomigliano d’Arco, Italy, Campania region, southwestern Italy. The Italian mezzo-soprano debuted Dec. 4, 2014, in the trouser role of Cherubino in the Metropolitan Opera’s 469th performance of Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro. Serena Malfi reprises her debut role for the 2017-2018 Met Opera season’s staging of Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro.

Kelli O’Hara appears in all performances, including the March 24 Saturday matinee broadcast, as Despina, the sisters’ maid who succeeds in encouraging the sisters’ fickleness. Her birthplace is Elk City, Beckham County, southwestern Oklahoma. The lyric soprano debuted at the New Year’s Eve Gala, Dec. 31, 2014, as Valencienne in the Metropolitan Opera’s 27th performance of The Merry Widow by Austro-Hungarian composer Franz Lehár (April 30, 1870-Oct. 24, 1948).

Ben Bliss appears in all performances, including the March 24 Saturday matinee broadcast, as Ferrando, Dorabella’s fiancé who undergoes a bogus wedding to Fiordiligi in his disguise as an Albanian soldier. His birthplace is Prairie Village, Johnson County, northeastern Kansas. The American tenor debuted Dec. 2, 2014, as Vogelgesang in the Metropolitan Opera’s 410th performance of Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg by 19th century German composer and librettist Richard Wagner (May 22, 1813-Feb. 13, 1883).

Adam Plachetka appears in all performances, including the March 24 Saturday matinee broadcast, as Guglielmo, Fiordiligi’s fiancé, who successfully flirts with his fiancée’s sister in his disguise as an Albanian soldier. His birthplace is Prague, northwestern Czech Republic. The Czech bass-baritone debuted Feb. 4, 2015, as Masetto in the Metropolitan Opera’s 539rd performance of Mozart’s Don Giovanni. In the 2017-2018 Met Opera season, Adam Plachetka also appears in the title role in Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro.

Christopher Maltman appears in all performances, including the March 24 Saturday matinee broadcast, as Don Alfonso, who launches the sisters’ fickleness tests via a wager with their naïve fiancés. His birthplace is Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, east central England. The British operatic baritone debuted Sept. 24, 2005, as Harlekin in the Metropolitan Opera’s 79th performance of Ariadne auf Naxos by German late Romantic and early modern composer Richard Strauss (June 11, 1864-Sept. 8, 1949).

Met Opera’s 2017-2018 staging of Così fan tutte debuts a new production directed by Phelim McDermott. The English stage director’s production team comprises Tom Pye, set designer; Laura Hopkins, costume designer; Paule Constable, lighting designer.

The opera’s original setting is 18th century Naples, Italy. Phelim McDermott’s new production fast forwards the opera to 1950s Coney Island.

Così fan tutte appears as the 18th of the 2017-2018 Met Opera season’s 23 Saturday matinee broadcasts. Turandot was the season’s 17th Saturday matinee broadcast. Turandot aired Saturday, March 24, 2018, at 1 p.m.

The season’s 19th Saturday matinee broadcast is early 19th century Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor. Donizetti’s operatic adaptation of Scottish historical novelist Sir Walter Scott’s The Bride of Lammermoor is scheduled for April 7, 2018, at 12:30 p.m.

Online database Operabase places Wolfgang Mozart in second place in a worldwide ranking of 1,281 composers for the five seasons from 2011/2012 to 2015/2016. Italian opera composers Giuseppe Verdi and Giacomo Puccini occupy first and third places, respectively.

Così fan tutte occupies place 15 in the worldwide list of 2,658 most popular operas. Places 14 and 16 are held by 19th century Italian bel canto opera composer Gaetano Donizetti’s L’Elisir d’Amore and by 19th century Russian late Romantic Era composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin, respectively.

Così fan tutte’s Metropolitan Opera debut took place March 24, 1922. Prior to the 2017-2018 Met Opera season, Così fan tutte’s most recent Met Opera performances occurred during the 2013-2014 season.

The Metropolitan Opera’s Repertory Report provides statistics for the opera house’s operatic performances. Così fan tutte is in place 42. Places 41 and 43 are occupied by 19th century Italian opera composer Giuseppe Verdi’s Don Carlo and Italian verismo opera composer Umberto Menotti Maria Giordano’s Andrea Chénier, respectively.

The takeaways for Così fan tutte as the March 31, 2018, Metropolitan Opera Saturday matinee broadcast are that the 2017-2018 Met Opera season’s 18th Saturday matinee broadcast presents the last of librettist Lorenzo da Ponte’s three successful collaborations with Wolfgang Mozart and also offers a happy ending that affirms love’s power to overcome intrigues and tests.

The Saturday matinee radio broadcast audience may miss the visual spectacle of Phelim McDermott's production of Wolfgang Mozart's Così fan tutte; yet, audio enjoyment is emphasized: Susan Jordan @Moonbootica, via Twitter March 13, 2018

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

Wolfgang Mozart's Così fan tutte, updated to 1950s Coney Island, is the Metropolitan Opera Saturday matinee broadcast March 31, 2018: The Wall Street Journal @WSJ, via Twitter March 19, 2018, @ https://twitter.com/WSJ/status/975824288317169665

The Saturday matinee radio broadcast audience may miss the visual spectacle of Phelim McDermott's production of Wolfgang Mozart's Così fan tutte, but audio enjoyment is intensified: Susan Jordan @Moonbootica, via Twitter March 13, 2018, @ https://twitter.com/Moonbootica/status/973668015719010304

For further information:

"Composers: Composers Ranked by the Number of Performances of Their Operas Over the Five Seasons 2011/2012 to 2015/16." Operabase > Opera Statistics.
Available @ http://operabase.com/top.cgi?lang=en

“Debut: Amanda Majeski.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 355517 New Production Le Nozze di Figaro {459} Metropolitan Opera House: 09/22/2014.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=355517

“Debut: Rachel Willis-Sorensen, Serena Malfi.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 355667 Le Nozze di Figaro {469} Metropolitan Opera House: 12/04/2014.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=355667

“Debuts: Dmitry Korchak, Adam Plachetka.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 355791 Don Giovanni {539} Metropolitan Opera House: 02/04/2015.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=355791

“Debuts: Johannes Martin Kränzle, Benjamin Bliss, Martin Gantner.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 355664 Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg {410} Metropolitan Opera House: 12/02/2014.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=355664

"Debuts: Jon Villars, Diana Damrau, Christopher Maltman." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 351297 Ariadne auf Naxos {79} Matinee ed. Metropolitan Opera House: 09/24/2005.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=351297

“Debuts: Susan Stroman, William Ivey Long, Kelli O’Hara . . .” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 355727 New Production The Merry Widow {27} Metropolitan Opera House: 12/31/2014.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=355727

“Debuts: William Burden, David Robertson . . .” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 322990 The Makropulos Case {1} Metropolitan Opera House: 01/11/1996.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=322990

Marriner, Derdriu. “2017-2018 Met Opera Season Offers Five New Productions.” Earth and Space News. Monday, June 26, 2017.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2017/06/2017-2018-metropolitan-opera-season.html

Marriner, Derdriu. “Turandot Is March 24, 2018, Met Opera Saturday Matinee Broadcast.” Earth and Space News. Monday, March 19, 2018.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2018/03/turandot-is-march-24-2018-met-opera.html

“New Production: Così fan tutte.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 356916 New Production Così fan tutte {188} Metropolitan Opera House: 03/15/2018.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=356916

"Performances Statistics Through October 31, 2016.” MetOpera Database > The Metropolitan Opera Archives > Repertory Report.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/Database%20Opera%20Statistics.xml

Service, Tom. “’I’m a Musical Thicky, Me.’” The Guardian > Culture > Classical Music. Jan. 25, 2008.
Available @ https://www.theguardian.com/music/2008/jan/25/classicalmusicandopera

Susan Jordan @Moonbootica. "Complete with a fire eater, snake charmer, and sword swallowers, the new production of Così fan tutte sets the action of in a carnival-esque environment inspired by 1950s Coney Island. Photos by Marty Sohl/Met Opera." Twitter. March 13, 2018.
Available @ https://twitter.com/Moonbootica/status/973668015719010304

The Wall Street Journal @WSJ. "Phelim McDermott’s new staging of ‘Così fan tutte’ transports Mozart’s opera to a 1950s amusement park." Twitter. March 19, 2018.
Available @ https://twitter.com/WSJ/status/975824288317169665