Advance Program Notes Ash Lawn Opera Così Fan Tutte Thursday, June 30, 2016, 7:30 PM These Advance Program Notes are provided online for our patrons who like to read about performances ahead of time. Printed programs will be provided to patrons at the performances. Programs are subject to change. Ash Lawn Opera Così Fan Tutte Music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte Melinda Whittington as Fiordiligi Steven Jarvi, conductor Cassandra Zoe Velasco as Dorabella Andrea Dorf McGray, stage director Joshua Dennis as Ferrando Joseph Hodge, assistant conductor Andrew Garland as Guglielmo Emily Cuk, assistant director Kristopher Irmiter as Don Alfonso Adam Liston, scenic designer Mireille Asselin as Despina Gustavo Araoz, lighting designer André Chiang*, Michael Colman*, Anthony Jennifer L. Baker, costume/hair/makeup designer Heinemann*, Katherine Henly*, Kara Mulder*, and Katherine Oates Small*, ensemble Ash Lawn Opera Board of Directors Martha Redinger, president Virginia Cenedella, vice president Robert C. Vaughan III, treasurer Debbie Scott, secretary Lynn Brown Joan C. Huntley Sue Ann Sarpy Judy S. Campbell Cheri A. Lewis Anya Scott Johannah Castleman Anne J. Logan Stewart Searle Janis Chevalier Marita P. McClymonds Richard Shank Carol Cooper John L. Mitchell Thatcher A. Stone Pat Davis David Newkirk Peter Sushka Lucille H. Digges Victoria F. Norwood W. McIlwaine Thompson Anne L. Fife David Preston Cynthia Tremblay Allen Hench Lady Blanka Rosenstiel Kurt Wassenaar Ash Lawn Opera Staff Michelle Krisel, artistic director Kevin O’Halloran, executive director Lydia Zodda, operations manager Jackie Newton, finance manager * indicates young artist Director’s Note Ash Lawn Opera Così Fan Tutte Andrea Dorf McGray, director The title of our opera today comes from a line in an earlier Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Lorenzo Da Ponte work, Le nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro). Don Basilio, the music teacher, sings, “Così fan tutte le belle! Non c’è alcuna novità.” (“So do [i.e. cheat] all the beautiful women! This is nothing new.”) In Così, it is the philosopher Don Alfonso who asserts that all women cheat; he is even willing to bet on it. The drive to then test the fidelity of two particular women results in the various characters struggling to understand the very nature of love and its relationship to faithfulness. Is love only meant to be, as Despina, the maid, asserts, “pleasure, convenience, enthusiasm, joy, fun, a way to pass the time, happiness”? Or is love much, much more complex than that, as embodied in Fiordiligi’s agonized cry, “I love! And my love is not only for Guglielmo”? For me, the implementation of the men’s bet leads to one fundamental question: why does fidelity matter? Our choices and our actions, especially in concerns of the heart, can have such enormous ramifications. Fidelity, so championed at the beginning, is dashed to pieces on the rocks of seduction, and the pain-filled consequences of the experience promise to echo down the years. In this dramma giocoso (merry drama), it’s all fun and games (and bets!), until someone loses… not an eye, but the ability to see what matters clearly. Program Notes ACT I Very early in the morning in a coffee house, two military officers, Guglielmo and Ferrando, are in the midst of an argument with their friend, Don Alfonso. The latter declares that all women cheat and makes a wager that, in one day’s time, he can prove that the officers’ beloveds, the sisters Fiordiligi and Dorabella, are as unfaithful as the rest of them. The men accept the bet and agree to do whatever Don Alfonso tells them to do for the next 24 hours. Don Alfonso finds the sisters at home and announces that their suitors have been called off to war. Ferrando and Guglielmo arrive to say farewell. Alfonso and the sisters, brokenhearted over the departure, watch as the men leave. Upon encountering the sisters’ desolation, Despina, their maid, mocks them for being so sad. She proposes that Fiordiligi and Dorabella should enjoy themselves while their men are away, saying that they should not expect the men to be faithful either. Alfonso re-appears and bribes Despina into helping him introduce two would-be lovers to the girls. Soon after, Guglielmo and Ferrando arrive in disguise. Despite Despina’s efforts to smooth the way, the sisters are horrified to discover strange men in their house. The two men immediately try to seduce the women, saying they were “led by love” to the sisters’ home, but the women do not give in. After they leave, Ferrando praises his love, thinking victory is at hand. Alfonso, Despina, and the men continue the attempted seduction. The “strangers,” blaming the sisters’ rejection, pretend to poison themselves. Despina, disguised as a doctor, revives them and enlists the sisters to help them to recover. Ferrando and Guglielmo, suffering from “hallucinations,” demand to be kissed, but Fiordiligi and Dorabella refuse once more. ACT II Despina encourages the sisters to return the strangers’ affections. When she leaves, Dorabella confesses to her sister that she is tempted, and the two agree that simply flirting with the strangers would be harmless. Dorabella pairs off with Guglielmo, still in disguise, and allows him to replace her locket, a memento of her love for Ferrando, with a heart-shaped medallion. Ferrando, once again unable to seduce Fiordiligi, is enraged when he sees his friend with Dorabella’s locket. Guglielmo does not know what to say to comfort him. Dorabella confesses to Despina and Fiordiligi that she has succumbed to Guglielmo’s advances. Fearing her own feelings for the stranger who has tried to woo her, Fiordiligi decides to disguise herself as a soldier and join the man to whom she is committed on the front lines. Ferrando interrupts her before she can leave, and she gives into his renewed advances. A now victorious Alfonso encourages the despondent men to forgive their loves. Fiordiligi and Dorabella decide to marry the strangers in a double wedding. Despina, now disguised as a notary, acts as officiate. As soon as the women have signed the marriage contract, all hear the sounds of a military procession. Alfonso warns the couples that Ferrando and Guglielmo will return at any moment. The men go to “hide,” and soon after return, no longer disguised. They express consternation and outrage as they discover the notary, who reveals herself to be Despina, and the wedding contract. Much to the sisters’ confusion and horror, Don Alfonso directs the men to the room where the strangers went to hide. The men return dressed half in disguise and half as themselves, and the sisters, and Despina, realize that they have been tricked. Don Alfonso declares that the deception was only a means to undeceive the men of their prior notions and invites them all to laugh, as he has done and will continue to do. Biographies PRINCIPAL ARTISTS MIREILLE ASSELIN, Despina Mireille Asselin is a Canadian soprano in the midst of an exciting career. In December 2015 she made waves by jumping in as Adele for opening night of Die Fledermaus at the Metropolitan Opera. The critics raved that she “stole the show” with her “crystalline voice” and “abundant charm,” hailing it as one of New York’s “most enchanting performances of 2015.” This marked Asselin’s third season at the Met, where she debuted as Poussette in Manon in March 2015. Asselin made her European operatic debut in 2014 singing Andromède in Lully’s Persée at the Palace of Versailles, where she will return in 2017 for Charpentier’s Médée. As a respected interpreter of early music, she appears regularly with Opera Atelier in Toronto and the Boston Early Music Festival, where her most recent roles have included Celia (Lucio Silla), Morgana (Alcina), Minerva (Il Ritorno d’Ulisse in Patria), and Euridice (Orfeo). She also sang the title role in Berenice at the 2016 Göttingen International Handel Festival. Closer to home, she has performed with Wolf Trap Opera in the roles of Thérèse/ Tiresias (Les Mamelles de Tirésias), Nannetta (Falstaff), and Frasquita (Carmen); Servilia (La Clemenza di Tito), Adele (Die Fledermaus), and Semele (studio show) with the Canadian Opera Company; and Phénice/Lucinde in Armide with the Glimmerglass Festival. Asselin’s recent concert credits include Carmina Burana and Mahler’s Eighth Symphony with the Calgary Philharmonic, Messiah with the Edmonton Symphony, and Mahler’s Fourth Symphony with the Royal Conservatory Orchestra, in addition to a recital at Carnegie Hall with The Song Continues. JOSHUA DENNIS, Ferrando Possessing a tenor voice the New York Times declared is filled with “youthful ardor,” tenor Joshua Dennis (Ferrando) sings his first performances of Roy Dexter in the American premiere of Arizona Lady with Arizona Opera, Tamino in Die Zauberflöte with Michigan Opera Theater, and Alfredo in La Traviata with Opera Columbus and Opera Idaho in the 2015-2016 season. He also joins Dallas Opera for the company’s commission of Heggie’s Great Scott and returns to the Santa Fe Symphony for Handel’s Messiah. His future engagements include a return to Arizona Opera for Bern Venters in the world premiere of Bohmler’s Riders of the Purple Sage and debuts with Minnesota Opera as Roméo in Roméo et Juliette and with Kentucky Opera as Belmonte in Die Entführung aus dem Serail. Last season, Dennis sang his first performances of Ferrando in Così Fan Tutte with Opera Naples and joined the Santa Fe Symphony for Handel’s Messiah, as well as a concert of opera favorites. He returned to Santa Fe Opera for its production of Rigoletto, where he sang the role of Jaquino in Beethoven’s Fidelio during the 2014 season, and joined Gotham Chamber Opera for its double bill of Martinů’s Alexandre Bis and Comedy on the Bridge.