Mary in Vancity

Vancouver Opera’s 2025 to 2026 season continues this February with Così fan tutte, returning to the Queen Elizabeth Theatre for three performances. It has been more than twenty years since Vancouver audiences last experienced this opera on the mainstage, making this revival feel long overdue.

Composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart with a libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte, Così fan tutte is often described as a comedy, but that barely scratches the surface. Beneath the playful disguises and clever twists is a sharp, thoughtful look at love, loyalty, and how quickly certainty can slip away.

The story centres on two young men, Ferrando and Guglielmo, who are completely confident in their fiancées’ faithfulness. Don Alfonso, older and deeply skeptical, challenges that belief by proposing a wager. He persuades the men to disguise themselves and test their partners’ devotion. With the help of Despina, the quick witted maid who sees through everyone’s pretences, Dorabella and Fiordiligi are pulled into a situation that forces them to confront desire, doubt, and their own assumptions about love.

What makes Così fan tutte endure is Mozart’s deep understanding of human nature. The characters are never treated as jokes. Each one is allowed to be conflicted, vulnerable, and human. The opera raises uncomfortable questions without rushing to resolve them, trusting the audience to sit with the emotional complexity.

Written late in Mozart’s life, the score contains some of his most beautiful music. Intimate arias sit alongside sparkling ensemble pieces, creating a constant shift between tenderness and humour. Mozart’s music adds emotional weight to Da Ponte’s clever libretto, turning what could have been a simple farce into something lasting and deeply relatable.

Productions like this are exactly why Vancouver Opera continues to play such an important role in the city’s cultural life. As the second largest professional opera company in Canada, Vancouver Opera is known internationally for its mainstage productions, country leading education programs, and innovative community initiatives. Their work consistently balances artistic excellence with accessibility, welcoming both seasoned opera lovers and newcomers into the theatre.

This new production of Così fan tutte is directed by Rob Herriot, making his Vancouver Opera debut, with a contemporary West Coast Canadian perspective. The Vancouver Opera Orchestra is conducted by Leslie Dala.

The all Canadian cast features Daniel Okulitch as Don Alfonso, Clarence Frazer as Guglielmo, and Owen McCausland as Ferrando. Jamie Groote makes her Vancouver Opera debut as Fiordiligi, joined by Alex Hetherington as Dorabella. Tracy Dahl appears as Despina.

Vancouver Opera General Director Tom Wright has described Così fan tutte as one of opera’s most emotionally rich and inviting works, noting its ability to resonate just as strongly with first time audiences as it does with longtime Mozart admirers. That balance of wit, warmth, and emotional honesty is what has kept this opera alive for more than two centuries.

Così fan tutte runs for three performances in February at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre. Tickets are on sale now, and subscriptions for Vancouver Opera’s 2025 to 2026 season are still available. Full details can be found at vancouveropera.ca.

Vancouver Opera’s work is supported by the Canada Council for the Arts, the Government of Canada, the BC Arts Council, the BC Provincial Government, the City of Vancouver Cultural Services, and Vancouver Civic Theatres.