CCM concludes its 2014–15 Mainstage Series with a true powerhouse: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Così fan tutte. The celebrated opera buffa returns to the Patricia Corbett Theater stage at 8 p.m. on Thursday, April 9, and plays through Sunday, April 12.
Director of Orchestral Studies Mark Gibson conducts and J. Ralph Corbett Distinguished Chair in Opera Robin Guarino directs. Assistant Conductor Yael Front conducts the matinee performance on Sunday, April 12. This production will be sung in Italian with English supertitles.
Guarino is certainly no stranger to Così, as she has successfully directed the opera multiple times for the world-renowned Metropolitan Opera (the Met) in New York City. Notably, her September 2013 engagement with Così also marked the return of beloved conductor James Levine to the Met’s podium for the first time since May 2011. A Cincinnati native, Levine is a former pupil of LaSalle Quartet violinist and CCM Professor Emeritus Walter Levin.
In his review for the New York Times, Anthony Tommasini hailed the Met’s production of Così as the most “vibrant, masterly and natural performance” of the work he had ever heard. Tommasini especially lauded Guarino’s direction, calling it “effortlessly in sync” with Levine’s conducting.
Mozart’s opera, with a libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte, follows the well-worn tread of light Classical Era opera. Officers Ferrando and Guglielmo are certain that their fiancées Dorabella and Fiordiligi (respectively) will always be true to them… a belief not shared by Don Alfonso, who, in his certainty that women can never be faithful and trustworthy, makes a wager with the two that he can prove within one day that their fiancées are fickle. To this end, he concocts a scheme with the soldiers: they will pretend to be called off to war, return disguised as “Albanians” and they will each attempt to woo the other’s fiancée.
Confusion, cross-dressing and romantic banter abound as the scheme unfolds, testing Dorabella and Fiordiligi’s resolve as well as Ferrando and Guglielmo’s skills in deception.
With enjoyable music and a lighthearted plot transported to mid-20th century America, Così fan tutte is the perfect way to welcome spring and say a fond farewell to CCM’s Mainstage Season!
The Company
- Ann Toomey as Fiordiligi*
- Jessica Faselt as Fiordiligi^
- Adria Caffaro as Dorabella*
- Eleni Antonia Franck as Dorabella^
- Joseph Lattanzi as Guglielmo*
- Simon Barrad as Guglielmo^
- Alec Carlson as Ferrando*
- Chris Bozeka as Ferrando^
- Grace Kahl as Despina*
- Jasmine Habersham as Despina^
- Derrell Acon as Don Alfonso*
- Tyler Alessi as Don Alfonso^
* – Performs Thursday, April 9 and Saturday, April 11
^ – Performs Friday, April 10 and Sunday, April 12
The Creative Team
- Mark Gibson, conductor
- Robin Guarino, stage director
- Lydia Brown, musical preparation
- Ryan Howell, scenic designer
- Caroline Spitzer, costume designer
- Wes Calkin, lighting designer
- Una Lin, wig & make-up designer
- Kevin Semancik, sound designer
- Sarah Stewart, stage manager
- Maria Fuller, Levi Hammer and Kihwa Kim, rehearsal pianists
Performance Times
- 8 p.m. Thursday, April 9
- 8 p.m. Friday, April 10
- 8 p.m. Saturday, April 11
- 2 p.m. Sunday, April 12
Location
Patricia Corbett Theater, CCM Village
University of Cincinnati
Purchasing Tickets
Tickets to CCM’s Mainstage production of Così fan tutte are $31-35 adults, $20-24 non-UC students and $18-22 UC students with valid ID.
Tickets can be purchased in person at the CCM Box Office, over the telephone at 513-556-4183 or online at ccm.uc.edu/boxoffice/cosi-fan-tutte-mainstage.
Parking and Directions
Parking is available in the CCM Garage (located at the base of Corry Boulevard off Jefferson Avenue) and additional garages throughout the UC campus. Please visit uc.edu/parking for more information on parking rates.
For detailed maps and directions, please visit uc.edu/visitors. Additional parking is available off-campus at the new U Square complex on Calhoun Street and other neighboring lots.
For directions to CCM Village, visit ccm.uc.edu/about/directions.
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CCM Season Presenting Sponsor & Musical Theatre Program Sponsor: The Otto M. Budig Family Foundation
Mainstage Season Production Sponsor: Macy’s
Community Partner: ArtsWave
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