Between 1786 and 1790 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and his librettist Lorenzo Da Ponte created three masterpieces: Le Nozze di Figaro (1786), Don Giovanni (1787) and Cosi fan tutte (1790). These musical gems are set against the background of a revolting Europe, when Enlightenment thought clashed with and eradicated the ancien régime. While Le Nozze denounces the relationship between servants and their masters, and Don Giovanni addresses sexual exploitation under the guise of the medieval ius primae noctis, Cosi fan tutte essentially revolves around the immoral and depraved desire to seek truth in love. Despite the misogynistic libretto, the richly orchestrated music of Cosi is dazzling, combining the different musical styles Mozart picked up during his European travels and giving a pivotal role to the clarinet (one of his (and my) favourite instruments). Fiordiligi’s aria Come scoglio immoto resta in the first act, and the two duets in the second act (Il core vi dono and Fra gli amplessi in pochi istanti) are among the highlights of eighteenth-century opera.

In this staging, Don Alfonso, the old and sage philosopher, and Despina, in this case not as young and naïve as usual, form a couple from the outset. Their troubled relationship provides a leitmotif for the events which unfold in the couple’s residence. During a housewarming party, organized as an eighteenth-century costume ball, Don Alfonso decides to test the amorous loyalty of his friends, Guglielmo and Ferrando, and to prove that all women are fickle by pretending to send the two soldiers to war, leaving their loved ones, Fiordiligi and Dorabella, in despair. As instructed by Don Alfonso, the two soldiers return disguised as mustachioed Albanians and set about seducing each other’s lovers. The production drops the men’s disguise after their first entrance, which suggests that Fiordiligi and Dorabella know their true identity and consciously take part in the masquerade. The first attempt at seduction, which involves both men threatening to poison themselves if rejected, fails. The ladies refuse to give in. In the second act, Despina urges the sisters to relent – with better success. They agree that a mere flirtation will do no harm and will help them pass the time as they await the return of their lovers. Dorabella easily surrenders to Guglielmo by giving him Ferrando’s portrait (in this case a t-shirt imprinted with his face). Ferrando has to make a bigger effort with Fiordiligi, who capitulates soon after. The seduction successfully accomplished, Alfonso advises the men to forgive their fiancées. After all: cosi fan tutte (all women are like that). Just as the mismatched couples are about to formalize their relationships by signing a marriage contract, Guglielmo and Ferrando return as themselves. The sisters realize they have been duped.

At the helm of this new co-production between La Monnaie and the Teatro Real Madrid is no lesser figure than the renowned Austrian filmmaker and screenwriter Michael Haneke. Haneke, who won several movie awards including an Academy Award and the Palme d’Or in 2012 for his movie Amour, first entered the world of opera in 2006 when he directed Don Giovanni (set in an office complex) at the Paris Opera. He brings a quasi-cinematic quality to Cosi by placing the dramatic action in a present-day Neapolitan villa with a terrace overlooking the bay. In fact, the production is permeated with cinematic detail: the blend of eighteenth-century and contemporary elements (encompassing both period costume and ipads), the breathtaking tableau vivant depicting Fiordiligi and Dorabella’s despondency, and the subtly erotic seduction scenes in the second act (Da Ponte’s librettos all contain a good deal of eroticism; his personal friendship with Giacomo Casanova is likely to be one of the causes). The exuberance of Haneke’s artistic vision had a major impact on the preparation process: rehearsals took nine weeks instead of six and La Monnaie had to fly in part of the Madrid cast because it was feared that it would take too long for their Brussels counterparts to master the intricate production. But the overall result justifies the effort that went into its creation: by setting the story against the background of the deteriorating relationship between Don Alfonso and Despina, Haneke reveals a rarely seen and unsettling dimension to Cosi which emphasizes the opera’s darker sentiments: his production suggests that Don Alfonso is desperately trying to compensate for the failure of his own relationship not only by constantly humiliating Despina, but also by destroying the innocent love of four young people.

Most operas have a diva or divo. In Cosi this is normally Fiordiligi, singing the prestigious soprano role. But not so in this production. Haneke brings together a young and dynamic group of singers that is so cohesive that no one rises above the other. Fiordiligi and Dorabella were sung by Anett Fritsch and Paola Gardina. Guglielmo and Ferrando were portrayed by Andreas Wolf and Juan Francisco Gatell; and William Shimell (who also acted in Haneke’s movie Amour) and Kerstin Avemo gave convincing renditions of Don Alfonso and Despina. The orchestra of La Monnaie was conducted by Austrian maestro Thomas Rösner who did a good job which was occasionally marred by the agonisingly slow tempi necessitated by the many moments of tension and contemplation Haneke built into the production.