Cast & Characters

The Cast

Fiordiligi: Alexandra Deshorties
Dorabella: Magdalena Kožená
Despina: Nuccia Focile
Ferrando: Paul Groves
Guglielmo: Mariusz Kwiecien
Don Alfonso: Thomas Allen
Conductor: James Levine

The Characters

Ferrando (tenor) - A young military officer engaged to Dorabella. He and his friend Guglielmo make a bet with Don Alfonso that their sweethearts will remain faithful. As part of Don Alfonso's plan, Ferrando dresses as a dashing foreigner to woo Guglielmo's fiancé, Fiordiligi.

Guglielmo (bass) - A young military officer engaged to Fiordiligi. He and his friend Ferrando make a bet with Don Alfonso that their sweethearts will remain faithful. As part of Don Alfonso's plan, Guglielmo dresses as a dashing foreigner to woo Ferrando's fiancé, Dorabella.

Fiordiligi (soprano) - A lady of Ferrara. She is engaged to Guglielmo, and vows to stay true to him although her heart warms towards the handsome foreigner (Ferrando in disguise).

Dorabella (soprano) - A lady of Ferrara, Fiordiligi's sister. She is engaged to Ferrando, but she accepts a heart-shaped pendant from her foreign admirer (Guglielmo in disguise).

Don Alfonso (baritone) - A bachelor and friend of Ferrando and Guglielmo. He believes that all women are exactly alike in one respect: their affections are fickle and untrustworthy. He proposes a scheme to his two friends: for twenty-four hours they must do as he says; if by then he has not proved his philosophy, he loses the bet.

Despina (soprano) - Fiordiligi and Dorabella's maid. She takes the opposite point of view from Don Alfonso, believing that men are unfaithful and women should be prepared to respond in kind. Don Alfonso bribes her to be his partner in crime, and she aids him in his scheme.