Jürgen Flimm's Zurich production of "Così fan tutte"

Cecilia Bartoli (left) and Liliana Nikiteanu in "Così fan tutte"
Photo © Classica (KirchMedia) 2001

Jürgen Flimm's Zurich production of "Così fan tutte"

Airing on Classica (Germany) on February 24, 2001

The current, acclaimed Zurich production of Mozart's "Così fan tutte" by Jürgen Flimm and Nikolaus Harnoncourt features the role debuts of Cecilia Bartoli as Fiordiligi and Agnes Baltsa as Despina. "For a Mozart debut, there is no better guide today than Nikolaus Harnoncourt." (Frankfurter Rundschau)

"Così fan tutte" contains not only some of the most beautiful arias that Mozart ever wrote, but also the greatest number of ensemble scenes of all his operas. The libretto, considered frivolous at its time of origin, clearly reveals Mozart's realistic view of the sexes. Disguised as Albanian noblemen, Ferrando and Guglielmo each try to seduce the other's fiancée - and succeed. Don Alfonso finally clears up the situation and reconciles the couples. He was right: that's what they all do - "così fan tutte"!

"By choosing precisely a work that has been exhaustively analyzed and interpreted, Jürgen Flimm demonstrated how 'director's theater' can help turn the art form of the opera into something irresistible and exciting in the new millennium. The depiction of Alfonso's bet as an experiment in the university milieu legitimizes the work's subtitle 'La scuola degli amanti' (The School of Lovers), but also proves to be compelling to the bitter end…" (Opernglas 4/2000)

"Harnoncourt doesn't conduct 'Così', he celebrates it. He goes behind what one sees to ferret out what the characters feel, and whips the orchestra into a state of agitated tension while the fools on the stage swear to be as solid as a rock ('come scoglio') in their faithfulness… At the latest in the cynical C-major 'lieto fine' is it clear that nothing here is pure any more." (Frankfurter Rundschau, February 24, 2000)

-Arthur Intelmann for Classica
© 2001 Classica (KirchMedia) - all rights reserved

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Così fan tutte
(Switzerland/Germany/Great Britain, 2000 - 193 minutes - Video director: Brian Large)

Musical director - Nikolaus Harnoncourt
Stage director - Jürgen Flimm
Stage settings - Erich Wonder

Fiordiligi - Cecilia Bartoli
Dorabella - Liliana Nikiteanu
Ferrando - Roberto Sacca
Guglielmo - Oliver Widmer
Despina - Agnes Baltsa
Don Alfonso - Carlos Chausson

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