Così fan tutte 1966Sadler's Wells Opera
Read more about the opera Così fan tutte
The Sadler's Wells company had already toured Scotland in the spring of 1966, but here they were back in the autumn, again for three weeks, starting 19 September. The tour order was reversed - Glasgow, Aberdeen, then Edinburgh. The performance schedule, identical in each city, was Mon Così fan tutte; Tue Thieving Magpie; Wed Madam Butterfly; Thu Samson and Delilah; Fri Bluebeard; Sat mat Bluebeard; Sat eve Madam Butterfly. Rossini's almost unknown piece was therefore given a second viewing within months, and an unknown Offenbach comedy was brought out for good measure.
This was the second visit of Glen Byam Shaw's light-hearted Mozart production, and four of the cast were unchanged since 1964, only the sisters being new. There was also a different conductor, a young Irishman, Kenneth Montgomery, whose intermittent visits to Scotland would span half a century, working with Scottish Opera again in 2015.
Cast details are from programmes in Aberdeen City Library and, for Glasgow, the OperaScotland collection.
Performance Cast
- Ferrando a young army officer
- Guglielmo another officer, Ferrando's friend
- Don Alfonso a middle-aged bachelor
- Fiordiligi a young lady from Ferrara, engaged to Guglielmo
- Dorabella Fiordiligi's sister, engaged to Ferrando
- Despina maidservant to the sisters