Così fan tutte

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—Sara Goldstein, Interim Chair of Vocal Arts

I have always felt that Così fan tutte, when done in its originally intended period, is painted with more than a hint of misogyny. Mozart and Da Ponte’s comic romp paints the two leading women in the piece as naïve victims of a very cruel joke perpetrated on them by their boyfriends. My thought was that setting the piece in a more modern period opened up other possibilities. The women, prodded on by the very forward-thinking Despina, take the opportunity of their boyfriends’ absence to explore more options in their romantic lives. Because they still feel societal constraints of being thought of as “loose women,” it takes them a while to come around to this new way of thinking about men and relationships. It is during the latter part of Act 2 that they come to embrace and revel in it. 

For the men, it becomes a bit of a different story. I set the piece in the 1920s to 1930s, and I see the two men as rich, spoiled, “frat-boy” types. They are not deep thinkers and don’t in any way foresee the ramifications of their prank and the effect it will have on the women. They are very narcissistic and can’t conceive that their girlfriends could possibly be interested in anyone else. As the adventure unfolds, they are ill-equipped to deal with the results of their actions, even causing them to turn on each other. 

The ending is particularly crucial. Mozart and Da Ponte don’t explicitly state how the couples end up. Do the women forgive their boyfriends for their cruel prank and go back to their original pairings? Or, does the course of the evening change the way the women feel, so they couple with their newfound love interests instead? Or, is there a third alternative where the women take revenge for the way the men toyed with their affections? 

Our approach, then, is one that keeps with the spirit and comedy of the unlikely events that make up Così fan tutte. The work is filled with incredible comedic detail while the music and words paint vivid descriptions of the characters. Mozart and Da Ponte also utilize one of their favorite tricks in this story: the disguise only those onstage can’t see through. We, the audience, aren’t fooled for a moment—this is part of the fun. 

I hope that you find as much joy in the performance as we had in putting the piece together for you.

—David Gately

Setting: 1920s, the Italian Seaside 
Don Alfonso, an old philosopher, wants to prove to his pupils and friends, the two young soldiers Guglielmo and Ferrando, that no woman—not even their enamoured sweethearts Fiordiligi and Dorabella—can be true. They protest at first, but eventually accept Don Alfonso’s wager. Don Alfonso has Guglielmo and Ferrando depart for the battlefield, but at his command they promptly return, disguised as foreigners. With the help of Despina, maid of the two sisters and ladies from Ferrara, Don Alfonso pulls the strings with ever new deceptions. The two foreigners, “rabid with love,” now approach the “abandoned” sweethearts, but in exchanged roles, Guglielmo now courting Dorabella and Ferrando, in turn, Fiordiligi. Dorabella is the first to succumb. Fiordiligi holds out longer, but eventually gives in to Ferrando. Don Alfonso sees himself as the winner of the bet and with satisfaction leads the two new pairs to the altar, and then has the old sweethearts return from war. An apparently happy end closes the affair and Don Alfonso remarks, “all women are like that,” or “così fan tutte.”

In order of vocal appearance:

Ferrando – Robert Kleinertz, Thomas Valenti* (Study Cover: Zach de Besche)
Guglielmo – YangHao Liu, Jason Edelstein* (Cover: Patrick O’Farrell)
Don Alfonso – Alec House-Baillargeon, Jovanni Ferrer* 
Fiordiligi – Laura Santamaria, Kayla Kovacs* (Cover: Avery Mahan)
Dorabella – Aubrey Bosse, Kayleigh Tolley* (Cover: Cassie Davies)
Despina – Bella Abbrescia, Molly McDonough* (Cover: Lizzie Marlow, Study Cover: Tess Levine)
Chorus – Zachary De Besche, Liana Greger, Rebecca Matte, Jon Motes, Patrick O’Farrell, Morgan Pay-Staley, Melissa Scarpelli, Landon Staley, Megan Weiss

* Friday/Sunday Cast

Act I

1. “La mia Dorabella”
2. “È la fede delle femmine”
3. “Una bella serenata”
4. “Ah guarda, sorella”
5. “Vorrei dir, e cor non ho”
6. “Sento oddio, che questo piede”
8. “Bella vita militar”
8a. “Di scrivermi ogni giorno”
9. “Bella vita militar”
10. “Soave sia il vento”
11. “Smanie implacabili”
12. “In uomini, in soldati”
13. “Alla bella Despinetta”
14. “Come scoglio immota resta”
15. “Non siate ritrovi”
16. “E voi ridete?”
17. “Un aura amorosa”
18. Finale

Act II

19. “Una donna a quindici anni”
20. “Prenderò quel brunettino”
21. “Secondate, aurette amiche”
22. “La mano a me date”
23. “Il core vi dono”
25. “Per pieta, ben mio, perdona”
26.  “Donne mie, la fate a tanti” 
28. “È amore un ladroncello”
29. “Fra gli amplessi in pochi istante”
30. “Tutti accusan le donne”
31. Finale

HARPSICHORD CONTINUO
EunJin Jung, MM '25

CELLO CONTINUO
Andrès Celis Avila, BM '25

FLUTE 
Maggie Stuteville, BM '27, principal
Aaron Dore, BM '25

OBOE
Coleton Morgan, BM '25, principal
Daniel Meza^

CLARINET
Chase Oliveri, BM '25, principal
Alainna Pack, BM '25

BASSOON
Kyle Sodman, GPD '26, principal
Alexander Weber, BM '27

HORN
Cam McCarty, BM '25, principal
Zachery Watson, BM '27

TRUMPET
Charlotte Berube-Gray, BM '26, principal
Jackson Stahlman, BM '28    

TIMPANI
Yuth Cañizalez, BM '28

VIOLIN I
Kristen Barrett, PSC '25, concertmaster
Jocelyn Wang, MM '26, assistant concertmaster
Bella Yee, BM '26
Alexander Estrella, BM '25
Emily Mullaney^

VIOLIN II
Joshua Rosenthal, BM '26, principal
Spencer Lee, MM '26,    
Tian Tian, BM '26
Isabelle Parker, BM '28

VIOLA
Victoria Skinner, MM '25, principal
Maya Hartglass, BM '27
Si Daly, BM '26

CELLO
Tzu-Yi Yeh, MM '25, principal
Matt Williams II, BM '26

BASS
Gabriel de los Reyes, BM '27, principal
Joseph Holt*

* Faculty member
^ Guest musician

Andrew Bisantz, conductor, joined the Boston Conservatory faculty as principal opera conductor and a member of the conducting faculty in 2023. He has led 85 opera productions for over 30 companies around the US, and recently made his debut at Central City Opera conducting Puccini’s La fanciulla del West. Locally, he has conducted four productions for Boston Lyric Opera. He is in his eighth season as artistic director and chief conductor of Eugene Opera, where he has been music director since 2008. This season, he conducts Rigoletto and Muhly’s Dark Sisters in Eugene. Learn more about Bisantz.

Christine Le, assistant conductor, is currently pursuing a Master of Music in conducting at Boston Conservatory with Maestro Bruce Hangen. She graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a bachelor’s degree in music education and, while there, studied viola with Roger Myers. She is incredibly honored to be working as assistant conductor to Maestro Bisantz for this production of Così fan tutte.

David Gately, director, joined the faculty of Boston Conservatory at Berklee in 2022 as associate professor of opera. He previously served as guest faculty of Philadelphia’s Academy of Vocal Arts and as director of the opera studio at Texas Christian University. He maintains an active professional career, which includes more than 300 productions at over 60 opera companies, symphony orchestras, theater companies, and opera training programs worldwide. Learn more about Gately.

Demitra Ypsilantis, assistant director, is a Greek American soprano and an assistant stage manager from New Jersey. She recently worked on productions including Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Boston Conservatory and A Christmas Carol with Commonwealth Shakespeare Company. She is currently earning her BM at Boston Conservatory with an opera emphasis, studying with Kathryn Wright.

Edith Mora Hernández, chorus master, is a MM '25 candidate in choral conducting. She has served as chorus master and assistant conductor for choral-orchestral works such as Shostakovich’s early symphonies, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, Mahler’s Eighth Symphony, and Don Giovanni, among others. Edith has also guest-conducted orchestras in Mexico. Currently, she conducts at the Boston Children’s Chorus and is part of the team of Back Bay Chorale. In the summer of 2025, she will make her debut as a conductor at the International Festival Palermo Classica in Italy, along with other conducting engagements in Mexico.

Evan Adamson, set designer, has worked on several productions for Boston Conservatory, including A Midsummer Night’s Dream, As One, and Island of Tulipitan. His productions with David Gately include Il Viaggio a Reims (Wolftrap Opera), La Traviata, The Barber of Seville, and La Bohéme (Brevard Music Center). Adamson is an adjunct professor at Purchase College and a credited contributor to two books: How Broadway Works and Designer Drafting and Visualizing for the Entertainment World. Learn more about Adamson(Opens in a new window).

Kevin Fulton is a lighting designer and theater artist from Denver, Colorado, now based in Boston. His past work includes The Gaaga (Arlekin Players Theatre); Driving in Circles (Boston Playwrights Theatre); Former Futures, Mankind, and Let the Right One In (Boston University); Midsummer Night’s Dream and Marriage of Figaro (Boston Conservatory at Berklee); Doctor Faustus Lights the Lights, The Silence, and The One You Feed, (MIT Theater Arts). He is a multimedia specialist for MIT’s Theater Arts program. Learn more about Fulton(Opens in a new window).

Chloe Moore is a Boston-based costume designer and educator for opera, theater, and dance. Her recent Boston Conservatory credits include Whaling Women and Riders to the Sea, L’Etoile, Voir Dire, and From the Ground Up (2022, 2024).  Her work has been seen throughout Boston in productions for Wheelock Family Theater, White Snake Opera, A.R.T., Central Square Theater, Boston Early Music Festival, and Boston Playwrights Theatre. In addition to designing, she has held faculty appointments at Shenandoah University, Boston University, and Emerson College, where she currently teaches as part of the theater design and production program. Learn more about Moore(Opens in a new window).

CREATIVE TEAM:
Artistic Director – Isaì Jess Muñoz
Interim Dean of Music – Isaì Jess Muñoz
Interim Chair of Vocal Arts – Sara Goldstein
Conductor – Andrew Bisantz
Stage Director – David Gately
Chorus Master – Edith Mora Hernandéz
Student Assistant Director – Demitra Ypsilantis
Assistant Conductor – Christine Le
Scenic Designer – Evan Adamson
Lighting Designer – Kevin Fulton
Costume Designer – Chloe Moore
Costume Design Assistant – Taylor Needleman
Wig Designer – Rachel Padula-Shufelt
Production Stage Manager – Karl Lengel
Production Assistant Stage Manager – Zachary Sayre
Surtitle Designer – Emma Shelton
Surtitle Operator – Emma Shelton
Fly Console Operator – Avery Hunt
Coaching and Musical Preparation – Jean Anderson, Laurann Gilley
Diction Coach – Nicolas Giusti
Rehearsal Pianists – Jean Anderson, Eoin Clark
Vocal Arts Liaison – Patricia Au

PRODUCTION STAFF:
Director of Performance Services and Producer – Hanna Oravec 
Assistant Director of Production – Becca Donald
Technical Director, Mainstage – Taylor Kaufman
Temporary Technical Director, Zack Box – Rosie Hartunian Alumbaugh
Assistant Technical Director – Caleb Harris
Props Manager – Hannah Spangler
Lighting Supervisor – Jacob Inman
Production Electrician – Gabe Goldman
Projection Technician – Grace Kroeger
Props Manager – Hannah Spangler
Audio Supervisor – Steve Deptula
A1 / Audio Engineer – Maddy Poston
Costume Shop Manager – Alison Pugh
Assistant Costume Shop Manager – Leah Foley
Wardrobe Manager – Blue Barber
Wardrobe Assistant – Taz Meyers
Wig Technician – Anna Corinne Lee
Costume Stock Manager/Draper/Stitcher – Kathy Scott
Draper/Stitchers – Sam Martin, Evan Petrow
Stitchers – Blue Barber, Rachel O’Brien 
Costume Production Assistant – Jackie Olivia
Costume Shop Intern – Heily Rivas
Fly Console Operator – Avery Hunt
Staff Stage Managers – Katie Black, Cameron Sarchi
Staff Assistant Stage Managers – Emily Hanson, Zach Sayre 
Senior Ticket Operations and Patron Services Manager – Kelly Brennan
Part Time House Manager – Inesh Krishnamurthy

STUDENT PRODUCTION STAFF:
Student Assistant Stage Manager – Em Ockert
Student Assistant Stage Manager – Miriam Stone
TPP Student Deck Crew – Riley Velberg
TPP Student Wardrobe Crew – Marina Brazendale, Diego Lopez, Jack Winkelhake
TPP Student Light Board Operator – Piper Lavey
Student Costume Shop Assistants – Amber Lew, Olivia Pike, Áine Lindsay, Elizabeth Hillman

CONCERT SERVICES STAFF:
Assistant Director, Concert Services – Luis Herrera 
Coordinator, Concert Services – Matthew Carey
Concert Production Manager – Kendall Floyd
Performance Technology Technicians – Sara Pagiaro, Goran Daskalov
Performance Technology Specialist – Andrei Radu