The Met’s Coney Island-set production of Mozart’s Così fan tutte returns to the repertory on February 15

The Met’s Coney Island-set production of Mozart’s Così fan tutte returns to the repertory on February 15

•  Harry Bicket conducts Phelim McDermott’s playful production, which is inspired by the side shows of New York’s most famous boardwalk
•  Nicole Car is Fiordiligi, Serena Malfi reprises her performance as Dorabella, and Heidi Stober sings Despina
• Ben Bliss reprises his portrayal of Ferrando, Luca Pisaroni is Guglielmo, and Gerald Finley is Don Alfonso

New York, NY (February 14, 2020)—The Metropolitan Opera presents Mozart’s Così fan tutte, conducted by Harry Bicket, with nine performances beginning February 15, 2020.  Phelim McDermott, who directed Philip Glass’s Akhnaten earlier this season, sets this tale of two couples facing a test of fidelity in the carnival atmosphere of New York’s Coney Island. Following her debut last season as Mimì in La Bohème, Nicole Car returns to sing the role of Fiordiligi, while Luca Pisaroni is her lover, Guglielmo. Serena Malfi and Ben Bliss reprise their performances from this production’s 2018 premiere as the other pair of lovers, Dorabella and Ferrando. Scheming to test the faith of the couples are Heidi Stober as Despina and Gerald Finley as Don Alfonso.

At the performance on February 21, Jennifer Check sings the role of Fiordiligi and Carolyn Sproule sings the role of Dorabella.

Così fan tutte Worldwide Broadcasts on Radio and Online

The February 18, February 27, and March 7 performances of Così fan tutte will be broadcast live on Metropolitan Opera Radio on Sirius XM Channel 75. The March 7 performance will be broadcast over the Toll Brothers–Metropolitan Opera International Radio Network, and the February 18 and February 27 performances will also be streamed live on the Met’s web site, metopera.org.

Così fan tutte Artist Biographies

Australian soprano Nicole Car has previously sung the role of Fiordiligi at Deutsche Oper Berlin and Opera Australia.  She made her Met debut last season as Mimì in Puccini’s La Bohème. She performs regularly for Opera Australia, in roles including Donna Anna and Donna Elvira in Mozart’s Don Giovanni, Pamina in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte, Leïla in Bizet’s Les Pêcheurs de Perles, Micaëla in Bizet’s Carmen, Valencienne in Lehar’s The Merry Widow, and the Italian Singer in Strauss’s Capriccio. Other recent performances include Donna Elvira and Micaëla at Paris Opera, Tatiana in Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin at Deutsche Oper Berlin and Bavarian State Opera, and Marguerite in Gounod’s Faust at Marseilles Opera. This season, she also sings Tatiana at Opéra de Montréal, Elisabetta in Verdi’s Don Carlo in Paris, the title role of Massenet’s Thaïs in Berlin, and Mimì at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.

Italian mezzo-soprano Serena Malfi reprises her performance of Dorabella, which she sang with the company in 2018 in the premiere of this production. She was seen last season at the Met as Zerlina in Mozart’s Don Giovanni and has also sung Cherubino in Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro with the company. Recent performances include Dorabella at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Angelina in Rossini’s La Cenerentola at Vienna State Opera, Siébel in Gounod’s Faust at Teatro Real in Madrid, and Rosina in Rossini’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia at Opernhaus Zürich. This season, she also sings Cherubino in her house debut at San Francisco Opera.

American soprano Heidi Stober makes her Met role debut as Despina, a role she has previously sung at San Francisco Opera. She made her Met debut in 2011 as Gretel in Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel, followed by performances as Pamina in the abridged, English-language version of Mozart’s The Magic Flute, the Celestial Voice in Verdi’s Don Carlo, and Oscar in Verdi’s Un Ballo in Maschera. Other recent performances include Donna Elvira in Mozart’s Don Giovanni at Deutsche Oper Berlin and New Zealand Opera, Angelica in Handel’s Orlando in San Francisco, Dalinda in Handel’s Ariodante at Lyric Opera of Chicago, and Antigone in Enescu’s Oedipe at Dutch National Opera. This season, she also sings Gretel in San Francisco and Musetta in Puccini’s La Bohème at Komische Oper Berlin.

American tenor Ben Bliss reprises his portrayal of Ferrando. He is a graduate of the Met’s Lindemann Young Artist Development Program and made his company debut in 2014 as Vogelgesang in Wagner’s Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, followed by performances as Arturo in Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor, Belmonte in Mozart’s Die Entführung aus dem Serail, Tamino in Mozart’s The Magic Flute, and the Steersman in Wagner’s Der Fliegende Holländer. Recent performances include Ferrando at Santa Fe Opera, Don Ottavio in Mozart’s Don Giovanni at Houston Grand Opera, and Peter Quint in Britten’s The Turn of the Screw at Seattle Opera. This season, he also sings Belmonte at Lyric Opera of Kansas City and Don Ottavio at Lyric Opera of Chicago.

Italian bass-baritone Luca Pisaroni makes his Met role debut as Guglielmo, which he has previously sung at the Salzburg Festival. He made his company debut in 2005 as Publio in Mozart’s La Clemenza di Tito, followed by performances as Count Almaviva and the title role in Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro, Leporello and the title role in Mozart’s Don Giovanni, Caliban in the Met’s Baroque pastiche The Enchanted Island, Giorgio in Bellini’s I Puritani, and Alidoro in Rossini’s La Cenerentola. Recent performances include the Four Villains in Offenbach’s Les Contes d’Hoffmann at Vienna State Opera, Escamillo in Bizet’s Carmen at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, and Claudio in Handel’s Agrippina at Teatro Real in Madrid, Théâtre des Champs-Elysées in Paris, and Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona. Other performances this season include the title role in Don Giovanni at Paris Opera and Opernhaus Zürich. Earlier this season at the Met, he reprised his portrayal of Figaro.

Canadian bass-baritone Gerald Finley adds a new role to his Met repertory as Don Alfonso. He has sung 10 roles at the Met, including Bluebeard in Bartók’s Bluebeard’s Castle, the title roles of Rossini’s Guillaume Tell and Mozart’s Don Giovanni, Athanaël in Massenet’s Thaïs, Count Almaviva in Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro, Golaud in Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande, J. Robert Oppenheimer in the Met premiere of John Adams’s Doctor Atomic, Nick Shadow in Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress, and Papageno in Die Zauberflöte for his debut in 1998. Other performances this season include the Traveller in Britten’s Death of Venice and Sharpless in Puccini’s Madama Butterfly at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, as well as Guillaume Tell at the Bavarian State Opera.

After leading prior Met performances of Handel’s Giulio Cesare and Rodelinda, including the latter’s company premiere in 2004, Harry Bicket conducts. At the Met, he has also been on the podium for performances of Mozart’s The Magic Flute, Le Nozze di Figaro, and La Clemenza di Tito. Beginning February 6, he also leads performances of Handel’s Agrippina at the Met—and on March 7, he conducts both the matinee of Così fan tutte and the evening performance of Agrippina. In 2007, he became artistic director of the chamber orchestra the English Concert, which specializes in Baroque and Early Music repertoire. With the English Concert, he has led recent concert performances of Handel’s Semele, Rinaldo, Ariodante, Orlando, and Hercules. In 2018, he became music director at the Santa Fe Opera, where he had served as chief conductor since 2013. This season, he conducts Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte and Dvořák’s Rusalka in Santa Fe, as well as Gluck’s Orphée et Euridice at English National Opera, Handel’s Messiah with the New York Philharmonic, and performances across the United States, Europe, and Asia with the English Concert, including concerts of Rodelinda and Samuel Adamson’s Gabriel.

For More Information

For further details on Così fan tutte, including casting by date, please click here.

Così fan tutte

Music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte

Saturday, February 15, at 12:30 p.m.

Tuesday, February 18, at 7:30 p.m.

Friday, February 21, at 7:30 p.m.

Sunday, February 23, at 3:00 p.m.

Thursday, February 27, at 7:30 p.m.

Wednesday, March 4, at 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, March 7, at 1:00 p.m.

Wednesday, March 11, at 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, March 14, at 8:00 p.m.

Co-production of the Metropolitan Opera and English National Opera

In collaboration with Improbable

Production a gift of William R. Miller, and John Sucich / Trust of Joseph Padula

Additional funding from The Walter and Leonore Annenberg Endowment Fund, and the National Endowment for the Arts

For prices and ticket information, please call (212) 362-6000 or visit metopera.org. Special rates for groups of 10 or more are available by calling (212) 341-5410 or visiting metopera.org/groups.