Così fan tutte Is March 7, 2020, Met Opera Saturday Matinee Broadcast

Summary: Mozart’s Così fan tutte is the March 7, 2020, Met Opera Saturday matinee broadcast, airing as 14th in the season’s 23 radio matinees.

In the 2019-2020 Met Opera season, Italian mezzo-soprano Serena Malfi reprises her role debut of Mozart’s Dorabella from the 2017-2018 season’s new production of Così fan tutte; before the 2017-2018 season’s ninth performance, on April 13, 2018, she had nostalgia about closing night, April 19, but looked forward to seeing her cat Mis, from whom she has been separated by touring for almost six months: Serena Malfi -- Mezzosoprano @serenamalfimezzosoprano, via Facebook April 13, 2018

Mozart’s Così fan tutte is the March 7, 2020, Met Opera Saturday matinee broadcast, airing at 1 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST) and numbering as the 14th of 23 scheduled Saturday radio matinees during the 2019-2020 Met Opera season.

Classical Era composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Jan. 27, 1756-Dec. 5, 1791) set his musical score for his comedy of romantic manners to an Italian libretto by Italian librettist Lorenzo Da Ponte (March 10, 1749-Aug. 17, 1838). The libretto’s literary sources included 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).

Mozart’s Così fan tutte premiered Jan. 26, 1790, at eastern Austria’s Burgtheater in Vienna. The theater opened March 14, 1741, as the creation of Habsburg Empress Maria Theresa (May 13, 1717-Nov. 29, 1780). Così fan tutte’s premiere took place in the theater’s first building, which adjoined the Habsburg dynasty’s imperial palace, the Hofburg, at Michaelerplatz.

The Metropolitan Opera hosted the United States premiere of Così fan tutte on March 24, 1922. In the 1921-1922 season, Così fan tutte received four performances.

The 2019-2020 Met Opera season offers nine performances of Così fan tutte. The season’s first performance happened Saturday, Feb. 15, at 12:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST). The month’s four additional performances took place Tuesday, Feb. 18, at 7:30 p.m.; Friday, Feb. 21, at 7:30 p.m.; Sunday, Feb. 23, at 3 p.m.; and Thursday, Feb. 27, at 7:30 p.m.

Four performances are scheduled for March. The month’s first two performances, Wednesday, March 4, and Saturday matinee broadcast, March 7, observe Eastern Standard Time, with start times of 7:30 p.m. and 1 p.m., respectively.

March’s last two performances are scheduled according to Eastern Daylight Time (EDT), which began Sunday, March 8. The month’s two EDT performances take place Wednesday, March 11, at 7:30 p.m. and closing night, Saturday, March 14, at 8 p.m.

Update: The Metropolitan Opera announced via Facebook Thursday, March 12, 2020, the cancellation of the rest of the 2019-2020 season due to the Covid-19 virus pandemic. The Metropolitan Opera Archives Database (MetOpera Database) entry of March 12, 2020, noted the cancellation of 58 performances. Operas affected by the cancellation were identified as La Bohème, La Cenerentola, Così Fan Tutte, Der Fliegende Holländer, Kát'a Kabanová, Madama Butterfly, Manon Lescaut, Maria Stuarda, Simon Boccanegra, Tosca, La Traviata, Turandot and Werther.

Update: The opera company's coronavirus-occasioned closure affected the last of the nine performances of Così fan tutte scheduled for the 2019-2020 season. The ninth performance, Saturday, March 14, originally scheduled as closing night, was cancelled.

The two-act opera has an estimated run time of 3 hours 30 minutes. Act I runs for 89 minutes. An intermission of 32 minutes follows. Act II is estimated at 89 minutes.

Harry Bicket conducts all performances of Così fan tutte. The British conductor made his Metropolitan Opera debut Dec. 2, 2004, in the Metropolitan Opera premiere of Handel’s Rodelinda. In the 2019-2020 Met Opera season, Harry Bicket also conducts Agrippina by German-British baroque composer George Frideric Handel (Feb. 23, 1685-April 14, 1759).

Nicole Car was scheduled to appear as Fiordiligi, one of two sisters whose fickleness is tested, in eight performances (Tuesday, Feb. 18; Sunday, Feb. 23; Thursday, Feb. 27; Wednesday, March 4; Saturday matinee broadcast, March 7; Wednesday, March 11; Saturday, March 14). She appeared only in seven performances because the March 14 performance was cancelled. The Australian operatic soprano made her Metropolitan Opera debut Sept. 25, 2018, as Mimì in the opera company’s 1,321st performance of La Bohème by Italian opera composer Giacomo Puccini (Dec. 22, 1858-Nov. 29, 1924).

Jennifer Check appears as Fiordiligi for the Friday, Feb. 21, performance. The American soprano made her Metropolitan Opera debut Oct. 11, 2001, as Clotilde in the opera company’s 133rd performance of Norma by Italian opera composer Vincenzo Bellini (Nov. 3, 1801-Sept. 23, 1835).

Serena Malfi had been scheduled to appear as Dorabella, Fiodiligi’s similarly tested fickle sister, in eight performances (Tuesday, Feb. 18; Sunday, Feb. 23; Thursday, Feb. 27; Wednesday, March 4; Saturday matinee broadcast, March 7; Wednesday, March 11; Saturday, March 14). She appeared only in seven performances because of the cancellation of the March 14th performance. The Italian mezzo-soprano reprises her role from the 2017-2018 Met Opera season. Serena Malfi made her Metropolitan Opera debut Dec. 4, 2014, as Cherubino in the opera company’s 469th performance of Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro.

Carolyn Sproule appears as Dorabella for the Friday, Feb. 21, performance. The Canadian mezzo-soprano made her Metropolitan Opera debut Dec. 18, 2014, in the title trouser role of Hänsel in the opera company’s 265th performance of Hänsel und Gretel by German composer Engelbert Humperdinck (Sept. 1, 1854-Sept. 27, 1921).

Heidi Stober appears in all performances as Despina, Fiordiligi and Dorabella’s trickster maid. The American operatic soprano made her Metropolitan Opera debut Dec. 29, 2011, as Gretel in the opera company’s 261st performance of Humperdinck’s Hänsel und Gretel. During the 2019-2020 Met Opera season, Heidi Stober also appears as Musetta in Puccini’s La Bohème.

Ben Bliss appears in all performances as Ferrando, Dorabella’s fiancé who has a bogus wedding, disguised as an Albanian soldier, to Fiordiligi. The American tenor reprises his role from the 2017-2018 Met Opera season. Ben Bliss 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).

Luca Pisaroni appears in all performances as Guglielmo, Fiordiligi’s fiancé, who disguises himself as an Albanian soldier for a successful flirt with his fiancée’s sister. The Italian operatic bass-baritone made his Metropolitan Opera debut April 29, 2005, as Publio in the opera company’s 31st performance of Mozart’s La Clemenza di Tito. In the 2019-2020 Met Opera season, Luca Pisaroni also appears in the title role of Figaro in Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro.

Gerald Finley appears in all performances as Don Alfonso, the trickster who instigates Guglielmo and Ferrando’s fickleness tests of their fiancées. The Canadian operatic baritone’s Metropolitan Opera debut happened Jan. 24, 1998, as Papageno in the opera house’s 317th performance of Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte.

The 2019-2020 Met Opera season revives Phelim McDermott’s staging, which debuted as a new production in the 2017-2018 Met Opera season. The English stage director’s production transports the opera’s original setting from 18th century Naples, Italy, to a modern setting, in 1950s Coney Island. Phelim McDermott’s production team comprises Tom Pye, set designer; Laura Hopkins, costume designer; and Paule Constable, lighting designer.

The takeaway for Così fan tutte as the March 7, 2020, Met Opera Saturday matinee broadcast is that Mozart’s operatic comedy about fickleness airs at 1 p.m. Eastern Standard Time and numbers as the 14th of 23 Saturday matinees broadcast weekly through Saturday, May 9, 2020.

In the 2019-2020 Met Opera season, Serena Malfi reprises Mozart’s Dorabella, a role she performed at Stockholm’s Drottninghlms Slottsteater in August 2017 (lower right), at Met Opera in March-April 2018 (upper right) and at London’s Royal Opera in February-March 2019 (left): Serena Malfi -- Mezzosoprano @serenamalfimezzosoprano, via Facebook March 24, 2019

Acknowledgment

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

Image credits:

In the 2019-2020 Met Opera season, Italian mezzo-soprano Serena Malfi reprises her role debut of Mozart’s Dorabella from the 2017-2018 season’s new production of Così fan tutte; before the 2017-2018 season’s ninth performance, on April 13, 2018, she had nostalgia about closing night, April 19, but looked forward to seeing her cat Mis, from whom she has been separated by touring for almost six months: Serena Malfi -- Mezzosoprano @serenamalfimezzosoprano, via Facebook April 13, 2018, @ https://www.facebook.com/serenamalfimezzosoprano/posts/2378510798841442

In the 2019-2020 Met Opera season, Serena Malfi reprises Mozart’s Dorabella, a role she performed at Stockholm’s Drottningholms Slottsteater in August 2017 (lower right), at Met Opera in March-April 2018 (upper right) and at London’s Royal Opera in February-March 2019 (left): Serena Malfi -- Mezzosoprano @serenamalfimezzosoprano, via Facebook March 24, 2019, @ https://www.facebook.com/serenamalfimezzosoprano/posts/3078884415470740

For further information:

“Debut: Jennifer Check.” MetOpera Database [Met Performance] CID: 350054 New Production Norma {133} Metropolitan Opera House: 10/11/2001.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=350054

“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: Christine Rice, Carolyn Sproule.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 355695 Hänsel und Gretel {265} Metropolitan Opera House: 12/18/2014.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=355695

“Debuts: Gerald Finley, Edo de Waart.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 330372 Die Zauberflöte {317} Metropolitan Opera House: 01/24/1998.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=330372

“Debuts: James Gaffigan, Nicole Car, Etienne Dupuis.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 356999 La Bohème {1321} Metropolitan Opera House: 09/25/2018.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=356999

“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: Kobie van Rensburg, Zachary Vail Elkind, Harry Bicket . . .” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 351094 Metropolitan Opera Premiere Rodelinda {1} Metropolitan Opera House: 12/02/2004.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=351094

“Debuts: Sarah Connolly, Luca Pisaroni.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 351250 La Clemenza di Tito {31} Metropolitan Opera House: 04/29/2005.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=351250

Marriner, Derdriu. “Così fan tutte Is March 31, 2018, Met Opera Saturday Matinee Broadcast.” Earth and Space News. Monday, March 26, 2018.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2018/03/cosi-fan-tutte-is-march-31-2018-met.html

The Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera. "In light of the circumstances involving the coronavirus and in consultation with the Office of the Mayor of New York City, we regret to inform our audience that all Met performances have been canceled through March 31, including tonight’s planned performance of La Cenerentola. This Saturday’s Live in HD cinema presentation of Der Fliegende Holländer has also been canceled. Thank you for your understanding. Learn More: www.metopera.org/updates." Facebook. March 12, 2020.
Available @ https://www.facebook.com/MetOpera/photos/10163327604920533

The Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera. “Reimagining a Baroque classic, Sir David McVicar’s new production of Handel’s Agrippina ingeniously updates this wry satire about the abuse of power to the present moment. Here’s a first look at the striking set design by John Macfarlane and lighting design by Paule Constable, from technical rehearsals this week. Photo by Jonathan Tichler / Met Opera.” Facebook. Aug. 15, 2019.
Available @ https://www.facebook.com/MetOpera/photos/a.134969600532/10162332707945533/

The Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera. "Sir David McVicar brings three thrilling stagings to the Met next season—revivals of Puccini’s Tosca and Donizetti’s Maria Stuarda, as well as the Met premiere production of Handel’s Agrippina—all showcasing the director’s versatility and vision. Buy tickets: bit.ly/2YDrq54 Photo by Antoni Bofill / Liceu.” Facebook. Aug. 2, 2019.
Available @ https://www.facebook.com/MetOpera/photos/a.134969600532/10162278045665533/

“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

"Season Cancellation." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 357448 Season Cancellation March 12-May 9, 2020. Metropolitan Opera House: 03/12/2020.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=357448

Serena Malfi -- Mezzosoprano @serenamalfimezzosoprano. “3 Dorabellas London New York Stockholm #dorabella #cosifantutte #mozart @royaloperahouse @metopera @drottningholmsslottsteater #london #newyork #stockholm #operasinger #operalife #mezzosoprano #love #music #opera #lirica #operasingersofinstagram #memories #sundaymood #sunday #three #girl #dressingroom #selfie #photooftheday @ New York, New York.” Facebook. March 24, 2019.
Available @ https://www.facebook.com/serenamalfimezzosoprano/posts/3078884415470740

Serena Malfi -- Mezzosoprano @serenamalfimezzosoprano. “Stasera nona e terzultima recita di Così fan tutte al The Metropolitan Opera di New York. Siamo quasi giunti alla fine di questa lunga produzione. Un po’ mi dispiace e so già che mi mancheranno tutti ma dopo quasi 6 mesi in giro ho voglia di riabbracciare la mia Mis!!!” Facebook. April 13, 2018.
Available @ https://www.facebook.com/serenamalfimezzosoprano/posts/2378510798841442

“United States Premiere: Così Fan Tutte.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 80750 United States Premiere Così Fan Tutte {1} Metropolitan Opera House: 03/24/1922.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=80750