Così fan tutte at Opéra Bastille

Thus do they all or The School for Lovers. When Lorenzo da Ponte is the teacher, the lesson is harsh and cruel, even if Mozart cannot resist tempering the implacable demonstration with musical grace. Before the cynical gaze of a pair of meddling manipulators, two brothers and two sisters become caught up in the alchemy of desire. Here we have pretend soldiers, false Albanians, a fake doctor, a counterfeit lawyer and above all, false friends! Can one really expect the heart to remain steadfast and love to be eternal? In this game of masks and deception with its labyrinthine rules, there can be no winners! Amid the vertiginous polyphony of this concerto for six voices, reminiscent of Marivaux at his most abstract and Musset at his least indulgent, Michael SchØnwandt leads his disciples along the path towards enlightenment.