The Tyrol, 1815. Young Marie was raised as a foundling by a French regiment and now travels with them as a sutler. She loves Tonio, a Tyrolean lad, who, however, is not an acceptable match according to the regiment as a supposed spy. When the local Marquise von Berkenfield accidentally learns from the regimental commander Sulpice that Marie is her niece who was thought to be lost, she immediately takes Marie under her wing to ensure that she is married in a decent manner. But even a year later, Marie still prefers to sing regimental songs and loves Tonio. In the meantime, Tonio has risen to the rank of a handsome officer and still wants Marie: Marie. His audition with the Marquise, however, is in vain.When Tonio learns that Marie cannot be the Marquise’s niece, he confronts her. The Marquise must admit to Sulpice that Marie is her illegitimate daughter. The regiment prevents a wedding befitting her rank, Marie’s past is revealed, and with the Marquise’s consent, Marie is allowed to marry her beloved Tonio.Gaetano Donizetti’s (1797-1848) Opéra Comique from 1840 is folksy, romantic, dance-like and melodic. The subject of the honest peasant or soldier versus the morally degenerate aristocracy, which was quite simple but widespread in the first half of the 19th century, brought great success to the work premiered in Paris and belonged to the standard repertoire for a long time.With Tonio’s aria "Ah! mes amis, quel jour de fête!" with no less than nine challenging high cs, every tenor climbs the Mount Everest of his subject, so to speak.

Almost entirely in December 1789, the year of the revolution, the score of this Mozart opera, which is hard to beat in its complexity and amour, was written in the shortest possible time - this time again in collaboration with the famous librettist Lorenzo da Ponte, with whom Mozart had just before successfully brought "Le nozze di Figaro" to the stage. Probably in the tradition of the opera buffa, the opera “Così fan tutte - ossia la scuola degli amanti” was commissioned by Emperor Joseph II.At the center of the amusingly frivolous event is the experienced cynic Don Alfonso, who knows the weaknesses of mankind and who, like a puppeteer, allows the four main characters to repeatedly come together in new pair constellations. The plot, which is kept quite simple and contains no superfluous episodes, is symmetrically structured and corresponds to its character according to the Commedia dell’arte. The duets of the individual couples are bewitching and sensually musical, reflecting the vulnerability and impermanence of the human being. After the work was critically and negatively judged due to the moralizing basic attitude of the 19th century, and repeated revisions were made to the libretto, the opera is now one of the absolute favorites of the public.The American feature film Closer from 2004 with Julia Roberts and Jude Law in the leading roles is based on "Così fan tutte" both in its score and soundtrack.