Sisters Fiordiligi and Dorabella are engaged to be married — but ever since their fiancés left for war, they’ve been besieged by two suitors, intent upon seducing them.
The pressure has pushed Fiordiligi to the brink of collapse. She huddles on the floor, caught between her lust and her conscience. But Dorabella, meanwhile, has a surprising revelation: She decided to have a dalliance with one of the men.
In Act II of the Mozart comedy “Così fan tutte,†Dorabella justifies her tryst with the aria “È Amore un Ladroncello†or “Love Is a Little Thief†— a song about the tyranny of love.
“Un serpentello è amor. Ei toglie e dà la pace, come gli piace, ai cor. Per gli occhi al seno appena un varco aprir si fa, che l'anima incatena e toglie libertà ,†she sings.
“Love is a little snake. It brings peace to your heart, then takes it away, just as it pleases! It opens a path between your eyes and your heart — and just as quickly chains your soul and takes your freedom away!â€
Ultimately, Dorabella advises her sister to give in and accept her desires. Otherwise, she warns, Fiordiligi's heart will give her no rest.
What will Fiordiligi do? Find out as soprano Nicole Cabell and mezzo-soprano Irene Roberts star as the sisters in Mozart’s “Così fan tutte,†on stage now through December 3, 2021: sfopera.com/cosi