Riccardo Muti's conducting of one of Mozart's best-loved operas was hailed in the press for its "freshness, rapidity and wit" and for "its wonderfully balanced feeling of being up one moment and down the next".
Così fan tutte, the most ‘symphonic’ of the four operas with libretti written by Lorenzo da Ponte, was composed over the autumn and winter months 1789 and premiered on January 26th, 1790, on the eve of the Mozart's 34th birthday.
Witness the outstanding performances by an ideal cast & also the classical staging and thoroughly Mozartian approach taken by director Roberto de Simone.
Ricardo Muti is regarded as a Mozart expert.With the Vienna Phil, he celebrated the 250th birthday of Mozart on January 27th, 2006, with a worldwide telecast of a concert from
Salzburg, and subsequent tour - a triumphant set of performances.
Directed for TV by highly regarded director Brian Large.
March 2009
“There is… plenty of work for the producer in seeing that the whole thing goes with style and good judgement. And this is exactly what Roberto de Simone has done here, supported by an excellent team of designers for sets, costumes and lighting. All is deft and ingenious, but above all, right for the music and libretto and a pleasure to look at. All six principals give performances worthy of the Vienna house which, after all, has standards in Mozart. The ensemble work is polished, the rias and duets technically able and tasteful in style. Any apprehension arising out of news (reported on the box-cover) that Muti's conducting was praised for its "rapidity" prove needless: the other terms, "freshness" and "wit" are perfectly justified.”
2010
****
“This is a most stylish production, with attractive costumes, and sets that are a viewing pleasure, especially the sea vista at Naples...Throughout, the singing (and acting) cast is in every way excellent, with Barbara Frittoli as convincing a Fiordiligi as Angelika Kirchschlager is an engaging Dorabella...Muti's conducting is splendidly alive and fresh. What more could you want?”
Click here for alternative recordings of this work.
