Planning, experience get opera from page to stage

Act 1, Scene I

Anywhere from four months to a full year before opening night, the cast and crew of Mozart’s opera “Così fan tutte” receive their first marching orders from William Farlow, director of University Opera and this production. Opening night is Saturday, April 24.

This deadline must be made. There will be no delays.

Mozart’s opera both celebrates and condemns the Age of Enlightenment. The plot finds Don Alfonso making a bet with his friends Ferrando and Guglielmo that their lovers, Dorabella and Fiordiligi, would fail if their fidelity were put to the test. Through a series of ruses, disguises and plot twists, including Ferrando and Guglielmo impersonating handsome Albanians to woo each other’s lady, the characters discover the values of friendship, trust, and true love. Opera aficionados often describe the work as “challenging.”

Scene II

Singers begin to work with a musical coach to learn their roles prior to general rehearsals with the stage director and conductor.

General rehearsals begin, usually about two months before the first curtain, with a complete sing-through and piano accompaniment. Musical and staging rehearsals follow, leading to opening night.

Act 2, Scene I

Three to six months before the first rehearsal, the stage director meets with set, costume and lighting designers and the technical director.

“Our scenery is built in the performance space, so we are able to rehearse on the set as it is being constructed,” Farlow says.

Scene II

Farlow has a complete set of ground plans and a model of the set before rehearsals start. They allow him to make decisions about entrances, exits and furniture placement. Not that he needs plans or models — Farlow has plenty of experience with “Così.””Over 30 years,” he says.

“I have sung one of the major roles, played in the orchestra or directed a production on various occasions.”

Act 3, Scene I

Complete sets and costumes are finished in the final weeks of rehearsal. The final dress rehearsal is Thursday, April 23.

Scene II

“Così” will open Saturday, April 24.

Other performances are Monday, April 26 and Wednesday, April 28. All begin at

7:30 p.m. in the Rennebohm Auditorium of Music Hall.

Tickets are $17, $10 for UW–Madison students, and available through the Vilas Hall Box Office, 262-1500.