Cosi Deck

Question 1

Cosi basic facts

Answer 1

1790
opera buffa
two acts
commissioned after Figaro success

Question 2

Additions for Figaro in Vienna

Answer 2

Additional aria for Adrianna Ferrarese del Bene.
Three insertion arias written for Louise Villeneuve. ‘Alma grande e nobil core’ K578 for Cimarosa’s I due baroni, ‘Chi sà qual sia’ K582 for Martín y Soler’s Il burbero di buon cuore and ‘Vado, ma dove?’.

Question 3

Cosi - Da Ponte model (Abert)

Answer 3

No source
modelled on prototypes
opera buffa
fickle women as classic theme
adding sentimentality
elements of irony

Question 4

Cosi overture (Abert)

Answer 4

melody in oboes - love
tutti chords interrupt like interlopers
introducing comedy
plays with stucture

Question 5

Fiordiligi

Answer 5

SOP
Lady from Ferrara
Dorabella’s sister
Living in Naples
Engaged to Guglielmo
The more serious of the sisters, willing to go to extraordinary lengths to resist falling prey to seduction.

Question 6

Dorabella

Answer 6

SOP
Lady from Ferrara
Fiordiligi’s sister
Living in Naples
Engaged to Ferrando
More frivolous than her sister and first to notice the charms of the mysterious visitors.

Question 7

Guglielmo

Answer 7

BASS
officer
Fiordiligi’s lover
while in disguise, finds success in wooing Dorabella

Question 8

Ferrando

Answer 8

TENOR
officer
Dorabell’a lover
furious with finance and jealous of his friend when he learns of her disloyalty

Question 9

Despina

Answer 9

SOP
maidservant
knowledge of the world, wise and crafty
teaching mistresses a lesson about mens true nature

Question 10

Don Alfonso

Answer 10

BASS
old philosopher
cynic when it comes to love
orchestrates an elaborate ruse designed to prove his point

Question 11

Act I plot highlights/lowlights

Answer 11

DA, F and G argue over fidelity of women and they orchestrate the plan for the men to ‘go to war’
F and D hear plan and couples bid each other farewell
Despina consoles the women to amuse themselves
DA recruits Despina
F and D find F and G (in disguise)
women not convinced by the strange men’s love for them

Question 12

Act II plot highlights/lowlights

Answer 12

F and D persuaded by Despina that there is no harm in flirting
Fiordiligi goes off with Ferrando and Guglielmo with Dorabella
Fiordiligi is less convinced than Dorabella, Ferrando is outraged.
Don Alfonso consoling young men
wedding between swapped couples planned but the men reappear in original form

Question 13

cosi first musical numbers

Answer 13

the first three are trios
this is followed by a duet for the two sisters
the first aria is number five for DA

Question 14

no.5 Vorrei dir - DA

Answer 14

Don Alfonso prolongs the torment of Fiordiligi and Dorabella about the fate of their lovers.
Divisi violas to be even richer and in a minor mournful key. Skittish violin accompaniment shows he is genuinely destressed, even though the audience knows that he is faking this – double meaning in the music.
Anti-sentimentalism in the parody and direct quotation of Lilla’s ‘Ah pieta, mercede’ which is a statement of sentimental distress and overwhelming passion.
last couplet repeated incessantly, especially ‘pieta’ to emphasise the pity he pretends to feel

Question 15

No.6 Quintet - Sento, o dio

Answer 15

Both men enter in uniform, and the women sing of their grief that they have been called away, begging for them to not go, and asking the men to kill them in order to end their misery. The men see these reactions as proof of the women’s devotion to them. DA reminds the men that his game has started.
Following sequence of 5 numbers supposed to exploit comic situation (officers pretending to leave) but Mozart emphasises sadness and emotional tone (lots of references to Idomeneo)
Final stanza: despite the five all singing the same words, Mozart separates them musically. Mozart pairs the sisters’ lyrical melody together in homophonic thirds. Officers also sing in thirds but with anxious dotted rhythms. Don Al. sings the same melody as the sisters but in canon against them: he is separated from both pairs.

Question 16

Goehring (1997) on Vorrei dir

Answer 16

parody
quotation ofLilla’s ‘ah pieta’
Eloquent statement of sentimental distress and depiction of overwhelming passion.
Musically shows stronger formal organization.
Says one need not feel emotion in order to touch – enough to mimic feeling
Seeing everything through Don Alfonso – symmetry of organisation.
Holding sentimental vision up to inspection.
Calling into question the confidence in human nature.

Question 17

No.9 Quintet Di scrivermi

Answer 17

This text is composed out of recit verses, but with lots of rhymes, and Mozart sets it as a concerted number.
Singing from Fiordiligi and Dorabella in short notes with rests between to sound like singing through crying.
Though Da Ponte writes this as recit verses, Mozart sets it as a concerted number. Makes the humour less the focus.
Mozart sets it as recit until ‘di…scri…ver’, showing the sisters’ weeping.
The sisters’ lines ‘sii costante’ and ‘serbati fido’ move to lyricism
Final line ‘mi si divide il cor’ repeated in long lyrical line sung by quartet of lovers
D. Al’s phrase ‘io crepo se non rido’ (a short dotted octave-leap bar-long phrase) is put against lyrical repetitions of ‘addio’ from the quartet: marks out the aside and shows how he is laughing at his scheme.

Question 18

No.10 Soave sia il vento

Answer 18

The music depicts the light waves in the sea that carry the boat off with them, in the lapping semiquavers. The sincerity of the sister’s feelings can be heard in their homophonic lines, parallel throughout. Not performative here but just lots of emotion. The sisters share one thought musically, DA’s vocal line is different, and more of a showman with his dramatic display towards the end. Even though DA knows that the men are not going to war he seems quite sincere in this trio, perhaps stepping out of character to add to the beauty of the music. It’s in a major key (E major) however despite being sad, sort of smiling through tears feeling

Question 19

No.11 Aria - Smanie implicabili

Answer 19

DORABELLA
This aria has lots of reference to classical mythology ‘I’ll frighten the Furies themselves’ and is in an opera seria style. Could be seen as a seria parody given the ridiculous context. So Dorabella’s emotions may be exaggerated but maybe not a ridicule of the genre itself from Mozart.
Dorabella panics at the thought of living without Ferrando. Fast moving string parts and outburst of woodwinds sounds like instruments sobbing with Dorabella.

Question 20

No.12 Aria - In uomini in Soldati

Answer 20

DESPINA
Throws in a parallel to Don Alfonso’s ideas of women being unfaithful, asking if she would expect fidelity in soldiers or men. Lots of ‘la-la-la’s which show a carefree attitude, and she advises the women to look for new lovers.
Lines here originally meant as recit, Despina scoffs at her mistresses. Aria starts three lines earlier than the libretto suggests. Musical feel changes when aria begins.
Despina young.
Expectation vs reality.
No sympathy for ladies she works for – no attempt to fulfil subservient role.
In the house.
After listening to Despina perhaps taking Dorabella less seriously.
Gender reverse – mirrors Don Alfonso who says that women are fickle. Idea of mirroring relationships with DA. Reframe what is going on.
Drawing back to buffa.
Snapping out of situation.

Question 21

No.14 Come scoglio

Answer 21

FIORDILIGI
declares herself unshakeable
Appears to be opera seria aria, although the text and music undermine this. A sense of cliché, and double meaning in the over sentimental music, and deliberately wide leaps draws attention the artificialness of the situation.
Written as a showpiece to show off the coloratura soprano’s voice, very agile, and uses extremes of emotion. Massive leaps reflects the forces pulling the character in different directions, even though the words talk of her as a rock. Emotions are sincere but Mozart’s still aware of the comicness of the opera, and pokes fun of the character and genre that takes itself too seriously. On the edge between serious and facade.
The steady beat and brass instruments make this sounds stately and serious and genuine in her intentions.
aria di bravura - virtuosic style
Mozart breaks stamzas by starting new musical section halfway through second half of first stanza

Question 22

No.15 Non siate (replacement for rivolgete)

Answer 22

GUGLIELMO
praises his and Ferrando’s good looks and questions how women could reject them
Rivolgete a lui - the first written aria here was a show stopper, praising his good looks. Longer and bigger orchestration including trumpets. Comparing men to mythical creatures of beauty.
Non siate - replacement aria shorter without topical references and does no anticipate tonality of finale

Question 23

No.16 E voi ridete (Ferrando, Guglielmo, DA)

Answer 23

The men claim victory after the women turn them down again but Don Alfonso reminds them there is still time for him to win his bet.
A laughing trio, Alfonso knowing that his friends laughing now will only end in tears later.
Follows directly after Guglielmo’s aria, no intervening recit.

Question 24

No.19 Una donna

Answer 24

DESPINA
Despina tells the women of all the various tricks that they can use and should have mastered by the age of fifteen to flirt. The sisters are outraged to hear this, what would people think?
Morally dubious but we like her as a character?
Longer aria for her – dominating.
Relationship with strings – a lot of shadowing but some interactions like a duet competition that she wins. Disjunction between them later.
Cheeky undertones for serious subject.
Emphasising themes of previous act – reminding where we are in the plot.
Repetition from thoughts of previous aria.
change in poetic metre reflected by tempo change

Question 25

No.20 prendero quell brunettino

Answer 25

Fiodiligi and Dorabella
The sisters after Despina has left comment initially on Despina’s cynicism, but then decide that it would not hurt to do a bit of flirting with the Albanian men. They echo each other’s melodies and then choose each other’s fiancés.
Showing Despina succeeding.
Mozart repeats the text twice through, the second time with much ornamentation and embellishment

Question 26

No.23 - Il core Dorabella and Guglielmo duet

Answer 26

If you didn’t know the whole situation this would just sound like a genuine love duet. Dorabella echoes Guglielmo’s music, repeating his melodies. Very genuine music could make the audience believe that this new found love is genuine both ways. They exchange lockets and Guglielmo grieves for Ferrando aside.
typical love duet of seria - echoing each other’s music

Question 27

No.25 - per pieta (Fiordiligi)

Answer 27

At first in recit and then in an aria she tells us of falling in love against her will, and feelings of guilt for Guglilmo’s affection. Perhaps the emotional centre of the opera, compared to her earlier aria which is maybe a parody this here is sincere.
Rondo aria - thematic return and high emotional intensity
sincere and not parody
Change of tempo to allegro for a livelier section with the final stanza

Question 28

No.29 - Fragli amplessi (Fiordiligi, Ferrando)

Answer 28

Ferrando’s still finding seducing Fiordiligi difficult, a contrast to Guglielmo and Dorabella. At first not obvious that this is another seduction duet.
Five-tempi duet. Starts as if an aria – takes the audience by surprise that this is a seduction duet. Different musical sections do not always adhere to changes of stanza in libretto. Unusual structure to duet.
Mozart repeats ‘ah che omai la mia/sua costanza’: the first time, they sing the line separately but then sing it in thirds as the seduction begins to take effect.
Mozart changes the accompaniment figuration and key at ‘sorgi, sorgi’ and once again, as in the libretto, the lovers share a phrase of ottonari. The music moves to the tonic minor as Fiordiligi begins to weaken and Ferrando threatens his own death if she refuses him.

Question 29

No.30 - tutti accusan le donne

Answer 29

Don Alfonso tells his friends not to blame women for being so fickle and reiterates a phrase heard in the overture ‘cosi fan tutte’ ‘they all do it’ and makes them repeat it with him.
Alfonso sings the motto ‘cosi fan tutte’ to his friends who repeat it back to him. Mozart uses this music near the beginning of the overture, expecting that listeners would recognise its significance in the opera. (Bruce Alan Brown 1995)

Question 30

no.31 Act II finale

Answer 30

Da Ponte doesn’t’ make it clear whether the couples go back to their old partners or stay with the new ones. This can be left up to the directors today, although at the time it was probably assumed they would go back to their old partners.
Continuous music without recit.

Question 31

Steptoe (1988) Cosi and contemporary morality

Answer 31

Begins with traditional exposition of the wager theme – male lovers proclaim the steadfastness of their ladies while saying women are fickle in general.
Temptation and seduction of lovers as common theme.
Work followed ‘Scuola’ pieces given in Vienna during the decade in each of which the characters are given a sentimental education.
ambivalence of real and stimulated passion

Question 32

Till (1991)

Answer 32

End of Josephinism and widespread social and political unrest
science of morality
18th century optimism in teaching morality
Fiordiligi experiences hihilism in the rejection of all religious and moral principles, in the belief that life is meaningless.
human frailty and acceptance that neither men or women can behave in a way other than how they are programmed to

Question 33

Hunter (1999) Cosi and convention

Answer 33

Origins in Metastasio’s Demetrio.
Buffa device of disguise used by Da Ponte to propel the plot.
‘The notion that the music of an opera was in some sense better than the text I relatively commonplace in commentaries on opera buffa as a genre.’
Draws attention to the dramatic potential of the manipulation of convention in Così – typical of buffa.
Don Alfonso doesn’t live with them (likely not definite) and although plays fatherly role in joining lovers’ hands at the end he hasn’t played the patriarchal tole of objection to marriage plans but does attempt to obstruct this somewhat. Simulation of the household structure common to many opera buffa.
Female rage typically diffused in opera buffa.
Conventions throughout including embodying the convention of Così.
household setting

Question 34

Ford (2012) Fiordiligi and Ferrando

Answer 34

seduction at heart of opera
music as tool for inner state
Established during sister’s duet No.20 that Fiordiligi ready to flirt.
Diminished 7th string chords opening scene vi of Act II show her relationship with Ferrando is very different from her sister’s flirtation.
As Fiordiligi decides she and her sister will dress in soldiers uniforms and find their husbands, her melodic directedness gives reassertion of her conviction but this is unconvincing in relation to her previous interaction with Ferrando?
‘Love motif’
Recurrent melodic, rhythmic and harmonic motives.
Love and music are nonconceptual hence ‘’.
Viennese Enlightenment and the close relationship of love and music.
Eternal and transcendent, beyond words and capable of being sounded by ideal understanding of music.
Motivic references across musical time bear weight to a particular musical event.
Use of the ‘love motif’ in Così as ironic and transcending the local meanings of its setting.

Question 35

Brown-Montesano (2007) - Fiordiligi and Dorabella

Answer 35

They are taught only one thing – to conform to the motto of the title that ‘all women are the same’ so the Ferrando and Guglielmo see it to be the truth.
Generic sameness of the sisters.
Musical and vocal differences between them.
Relies on putting questionable ideas in their heads.
Dorabella’s quick transformation – malleable.
Overwhelmed woman by the end – at the submission of Ferrando.

Question 36

Hytner Glyndebourne 2006 Fiordiligi presentation

Answer 36

No.29
- Fiordiligi sexualised and shown as secondary to Ferrando
- When Ferrando enters threatening to kill himself at her loss she wants him to leave. He has large sword
- The presence of the huge sword and his convincing words of death may help convince her to his love?
- he takes off her clothes
- This peaks at the end of the penultimate section, before they start singing in thirds. From this point onwards they barely leave each other alone – always in contact.
- This is perhaps helped by the overall view of this staging as a period work – the clothes are more typical of the period and it doesn’t present as a particularly ‘modern’ performance.
End:
- busy chorus
- Lots of eye contact – couples singing to each other and also interaction between the sisters about their joy.
- Couples go back to other but Fiordiligi and Guglielmo later to embrace.
Ends with sister pairing and men paried together. All still seem rather angry.
- Confusion at the end when men stand behind the women and put their arms on shoulder of wife bu t then all look at each other as if confused.

Question 37

Andrews - Munich 2022 Fiordiligi

Answer 37

No 29
- other characters onstage, watched
- mattress on the floor and modern
- The fact that she is watched for the beginning of this aria is a reminder of the prank. The staging of Ferrando behind her from the beginning also suggests how it is not a solo aria but a duet.
- She has a knife as a prop and threatens him with it when he enters singing – instead of him having the knife as in the other production. He guides her hand with the knife and mimes her ending his life.
- They are closer towards the end and he takes off her soldiers uniform much later than in the other production.
End finale
- no onstage chorus
- all characters separate without contact
- Not fully convinced that couples would be happy either way – all seem pretty angry at the entire situation. All separate – no contact, in same order of pairings.
All distraught at the end – particularly Fiordiligi who appears to be tearing her hair out.

Question 38

no.10 cosi ponelle film version

Answer 38

All outside on the beach, ladies appear distraught at their lovers having left. Don Alfonso moving during the recit whilst the ladies are static – his power?
Camera pans back to show the figures standing ashore and staring into the middle distance whilst singing – not looking at or interacting with each other. Perhaps emphasising their separation into their own thoughts at this moment and the separation that is to come.

Question 39

Gloger ROH 2019 no.10

Answer 39

Set on a bench this time, sat with the two women on the bench and Don Alfonso just behind.
Don Alfonso interacting with the ‘elements’ and the fly from above comes down – as if he is in control.
For DA speakout moment he moved to stand between the two.
DA leaves the two onstage as they both fall asleep on the bench.
Outside bench – dressed in coats etc.

Question 40

Hytner 2006 no.10

Answer 40

Again, all characters in a line staring out to the distance.
This time DA on the end.
Women look as if they are about to cry.
Set inside.
Fiordiligi in the middle, moving slightly more forwards (foreshadows that she will stay attached to her husband for the longest).
Characters barely move – moment of stasis.

Question 41

no.19 cosi ponelle film

Answer 41

Inside the house, Despina playing up to the comic element whilst singing to the two women.
Camera focus on Despina, as if the audience are the character she is speaking to at that time. This gives almost an impression that the fourth wall is being broken as she looks directly at the camera.
Moving around the set in a manner aligned to the music in exaggerated comic dance style.
Less of a focus on the attendance of the sisters she is talking to – somewhat unclear if they are actually listening.

Question 42

Hytner 2006 no.19 cosi

Answer 42

Despina here is young, she communicates with the two women as if they are her friends. For example, through physical interaction and an arm around them.
Dorabella seeming more attentive to the words Despina is speaking, Fiordiligi facing the other way as if not listening.
Depsina also breaking the fourth wall in a way that she communicates with the audience.
Fiordiligi refusing to interact in a way Dorabella is not parry to.
Despina leaves them alone onstage.
Sisters barely move whilst Despina commands the stage.

Question 43

Andrews 2022 no.19 cosi

Answer 43

Despina older than the two girls, their childish nature is played up by the fact that in the recit before the aria they are playing with toys on the floor. Despina seems to have a strange sexual relationship with Don Alfonso.
Sisters are playing around, don’t seem very adult in this production, spend a lot of time kneeling.
Sisters both seem the same – not one more reluctant than the other.
Sisters seem bored by the end of Despina’s showing off. No aside from Despina to the audience – the sisters seem to hear everything.

Question 44

no.23 cosi ponelle film

Answer 44

Transitioning into the garden.
Dorabella less quickly giving into Guglielmo in the recit, who is getting assistance from Don Alfonso.
Dorabella quickly won over by the time the duet begins.
The two getting closer together.
Sense of power dynamic controlled b Guglielmo.

Question 45

hytner 2006 no.29 cosi

Answer 45

Dorabella and Guglielmo outside. Guglielmo gives her a heart necklace in the recit just before.
Dorabella sat on chair with G kneeling at her level.
Staged in a way to represent the idea of a genuine love duet.
They are very close together, moving and singing together.
Power dynamic adjusts when he stands behind her to attach the necklace – shows how Dorabella has completely given in.