Want to bet? Two young men fake their departure and return as seducers. In disguise, each «tests” the steadfastness of the other’s betrothed. Yet the game quickly gets out of the hands of the participants: their feelings are as if on a rollercoaster ride, and it all ends in a (fictitious) wedding with the partners switched. The men break off the game, the participants come to terms, but the future of the couples remains open. «Everybody does it this way”? Just as the ladies are signing the marriage contract, Don Alfonso allows the former fiancés to return. The ladies panic, the gentlemen rage. Don Alfonso has won the wager but he advises the parties to be reasonable. Tearfully, the ladies again vow everlasting fidelity. The gentlemen dispense with any further tests. All feel the emotion in their hearts. Despina alone vows to control the game more expertly the next time.
Dramma Giocosa in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Performed in Italian with German surtitles
Running time 3 hours 15 minutes
Premiere 23 Jan 1998
Set Design: Fred Berndt
Choir: Christof Bauer
Costume Design: Swetlana Zwetkova
Lighting Design: Friedwalt Degen
