What You Need to Know About Mozart’s COSI FAN TUTTE at Lyric Opera of Chicago

Lyric Opera of Chicago will present Mozart’s beloved masterpiece Così fan tutte, on stage February 1–15, 2026. This glamorous rom-com returns to Lyric in a sun-soaked 1930s-era seaside country club setting, where two officers — convinced all women are fickle in love — hatch a plan to switch places and woo each other’s fiancées in disguise. Hilarity, dazzling arias, and some of Mozart’s most glorious ensemble writing ensue in this sophisticated exploration of love’s fragility and the games we play with each other’s hearts.

Music Director Enrique Mazzola conducts this sparkling production, leading the Lyric Opera Orchestra through Mozart’s multifaceted score. The stellar ensemble features a fresh cast of rising international stars as the four young lovers: Jacquelyn Stucker as Fiordiligi, Cecilia Molinari as Dorabella, Anthony León as Ferrando, and Ian Rucker as Guglielmo. They are joined by longtime Lyric favorites Ana María Martínez as the cunning maid Despina and Rod Gilfry as the philosophical Don Alfonso.

When love becomes a laboratory experiment. Based on Lorenzo Da Ponte’s wickedly clever libretto, Così fan tutte — or "Thus Do They All" — is Mozart’s most psychologically complex comedy. The cynical philosopher Don Alfonso wagers that no woman can remain faithful when tempted, and he enlists the help of the worldly maid Despina to prove his point. Two young officers, Ferrando and Guglielmo, are so confident in their sweethearts’ devotion that they accept the bet, agreeing to disguise themselves and attempt a seduction of the other’s fiancée. What begins as an amusing game spirals into genuine confusion when the sisters begin to respond to their exotic new suitors, throwing all four lovers into emotional chaos. Mozart’s music captures every shift in feeling — from playful teasing to heartfelt longing to aching uncertainty — in some of the most sublime arias, duets, and ensembles ever written. Set against frothy costumes and splashy sets that belie an undercurrent of genuine emotional stakes, this production shows that some questions about love have no easy answers, and that opera at its finest can illuminate the complexities of human relationships with unparalleled beauty and insight.

Rising stars command some of Mozart’s greatest roles. American soprano Jacquelyn Stucker makes her highly anticipated Lyric debut as Fiordiligi, the more steadfast of the two sisters. Hailed as one of today’s most exciting singing actresses, Stucker is a fast-rising star who graduated from the prestigious Jette Parker Young Artist Programme at London’s Royal Ballet and Opera. Her rapturously acclaimed debut in the title role of Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea at the 2022 Aix-en-Provence Festival firmly established her reputation on the international stage. Stucker has since made her Metropolitan Opera debut as the Countess in Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro, sang the demanding title role in Thomas Adès’s The Exterminating Angel at Opéra national de Paris, and made her role debut as the Governess in Britten’s The Turn of the Screw at Santa Fe Opera.

Italian mezzo-soprano Cecilia Molinari makes her United States and Lyric debuts as Dorabella, Fiordiligi’s more impulsive sister. Molinari is especially known for her interpretation of Mozart, Rossini, and baroque roles. A trained physician as well as an opera singer, Molinari has established herself at major international houses including Teatro alla Scala, Vienna State Opera, Semperoper Dresden, and the Salzburg Festival. The winner of the International Bel Canto Prize at the Rossini in Wildbad Festival, she makes several important debuts this season, including at Opéra national de Paris in the title role of Handel’s Ariodante; at Teatro La Fenice in Venice, where she returns for her debut as Sesto in Mozart’s La clemenza di Tito; and to Dutch National Opera, for Cherubina (a female version of Cherubino) in Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro, in a production directed by Kirill Serebrennikov.

American-born Cuban and Colombian tenor Anthony León makes his Lyric debut as Ferrando, the ardent young officer whose love is sorely tested. One of the most celebrated rising stars in opera, León is the winner of First Prize and the Zarzuela Prize at Operalia 2022 and a winner of the 2023 Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition. He was also a finalist for the Rising Star Award at the 2024 International Opera Awards and a winner of the 2024 Richard Tucker Career Grant. A former member of the Domingo-Colburn-Stein Young Artist Program at LA Opera, León opened its 2023/24 season with his role debut as Don Ottavio in Mozart’s Don Giovanni. His recent engagements include performances with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at the Ravinia Festival and the LA Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl under Gustavo Dudamel.

American baritone Ian Rucker sings Guglielmo, Ferrando’s more exuberant comrade-in-arms. A recent graduate of Lyric’s renowned artist-development program — The Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center — where he completed three seasons of intensive training, Rucker appeared at Lyric earlier this season as a soloist in Orff’s Carmina Burana and has starred as Schaunard in Puccini’s La Bohème (2024/25), Man in Bar in Terence Blanchard and Michael Cristofer’s Champion (2023/24), and Moralès in Bizet’s Carmen (2022/23). He also jumped in for performances of the Foreman in Janáček’s Jenůfa (2023/24) and Raimbaud in Rossini’s Le Comte Ory (2022/23). A native of Oshkosh, Wisconsin, he was a prize winner in the finals of the prestigious Neue Stimmen competition in 2024 and received global acclaim in the title role of the world premiere of Oliver Leith and Ted Huffman’s The Story of Billy Budd, Sailor, an adaptation of Benjamin Britten's opera, at the 2025 Aix-en-Provence Festival.