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St. Olaf Lyric Theatre to present Cosi Fan Tutte

By John Andert '10
October 14, 2008

"All women are like that" is a phrase that most people would -- rightly so -- hesitate to declare in public. But the St. Olaf Music Department's Lyric Theatre will boldly make such a statement with its first show of the season, Cosi Fan Tutte ("Thus Do All Women"), which will be performed Oct. 23-25.

CosiFanTutte
The cast of Cosi Fan Tutte
The opera, which will be sung in English, will begin each night at 7:30 p.m. in Christiansen Hall of Music Urness Recital Hall. Doors will open at 7 p.m. The event is free; tickets will be available at the door or may be reserved in advance through e-mail only. All seating is general admission.

Cosi Fan Tutte is one of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's late operas and was the last opera that he and Lorenzo da Ponte, one of Italy's finest librettists, collaborated on. The opera tells the hilarious and heartbreaking story of two young men who make a wager with their devious friend and mentor that no matter what the temptation, their fiancees will always remain faithful to them. The men soon hatch a plot with the aid of their devious friend, Don Alfonso, and a saucy maid, Despina, to disguise themselves and woo the other's bride-to-be. But they soon learn they must be careful what they wish for.

The cast
The main cast roles consist of two sets of lovers: Fiordiligi and Gugliemo, played by Emily Way '09 and Nick Miguel '10, and Dorabella and Ferrando, played by Francesca Cavilia '10 and John Andert '10. Derek Trayling '09 and Holly Flack '09 play the two main people trying to plot against the lovers, Don Alfonso and Despina. The cast is supported by Erika Johnson '10, Andy Pokel '09 and Lucy Hires '11.

One of the many challenges of this opera is the amount of singing cast members must do. Because the whole opera is sung in recitative-style, the cast has no time to rest their voice. "It's a real challenge to be such an integral part of the plot for the entire show," Trayling says. "For us, we've blocked the scenes and worked on them slowly over two months, but for the audience, they see it all at once so it's a new challenge for me to be aware of that character development as an arc and not as separate, individual scenes."

A modern twist
Mozart composed every moment of music with complete intention so that every scene has a perfect part of the development of the larger work. Cosi Fan Tutte has a timeless libretto. It has been set in many different ways, from the original 18th century Naples, Italy, to more radical interpretations like setting it in a cafe in the American '60s and '70s. St. Olaf Lyric Theatre will take a new modern twist on Cosi Fan Tutte, setting the opera in the present day at an Italian beach resort. Associate Professor of Music Janis Hardy, the staging director, and Associate Professor of Music Jim McKeel, the musical director, are the masterminds of this modern take on the opera and are excited to be able to share this show with the St. Olaf and Northfield communities.

Cosi Fan Tutte is the first show of the Music Department's three-production lyric theatre season. The other productions include the January 2009 production of Christopher Columbus (music by Jacques Offenbach, with a wacky new story detailing the famed explorer's accidental discovery of Coca Cola) and a student-directed production in May 2009.

Contact Kari VanDerVeen at 507-786-3970 or vanderve@stolaf.edu.