Mozart’s Così fan tutte will explore Artificial Intelligence, directed by Yuval Sharon, April 5–13
- Encore Staff Writer
- Feb 27
- 3 min read
Detroit Opera will present three performances of Così fan tutte, in a new staging by Artistic Director Yuval Sharon, April 5, 11 and 13. The production is a futuristic take on Mozart’s dark comedy about human relationships—an exploration of artificial intelligence, with Don Alfonso’s “school for lovers” recast as a laboratory where the four lovers are his robotic inventions, created with the support of Despina. The two couples play out their creator’s Faustian manipulations. Will this laboratory of lovers lead to a breakthrough for “Humanity 2.0,” or are human habits of jealousy and deceit hardwired into us? Corinna Niemeyer will make her U.S. conducting debut with Così. The cast will include, as the opera’s two central couples, soprano Olivia Boen (Fiordiligi), mezzo-soprano Emily Fons (Dorabella), tenor Joshua Blue (Ferrando), and baritone Thomas Lehman (Guglielmo). Baritone Ed Parks will sing the role of Don Alfonso, and soprano Ann Toomey will be featured as Despina.
“This new take on Mozart’s most controversial comedy will be an exploration of artificial intelligence,” says Sharon. “With a resolutely futuristic look, the comedy of Così will emerge in a surprisingly organic way. The production explores the connection between the Enlightenment-era belief of ‘humans as machines’ and the origin for contemporary explorations of what current thinkers are imagining as the ‘post-human,’ or ‘Humanity 2.0.’ As anxieties proliferate about AI, this production offers the opportunity for reflection on this phenomenon in a way that only opera can.
“This production is neither alarmist nor boosterist when it comes to taking a position on AI. It is, instead, ambivalent: if there is a way to transcend human capacity for suffering and cruelty, shouldn’t we pursue it? On the other hand, what is in danger of being lost forever with the advent of AI? We are considering the human legacy of creativity and individual expression that threatens to be so successfully reproducible digitally as to make art itself on the verge of obsolescence. At that precipice, why do we do opera? Isn’t it precisely to explore the full range of what it means to be human—even if that species may soon be eclipsed by whatever comes next?”
Così fan tutte
Saturday, April 5, 2025 at 7:30pm
Friday, April 11, 2025 at 7:30pm
Sunday, April 13, 2025 at 2:30pm
Detroit Opera House
Tickets start at $30, available at detroitopera.org, tickets@detroitopera.org, or 313.237.7464.
Music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Libretto by Lorenzo da Ponte
Sung in Italian with projected English translations
Conductor: Corinna Niemeyer
Director: Yuval Sharon
Set Designer: dots
Sound Designer: Jody Elff
Costume Designer: Oana Botez
Lighting Designer: Yuki Nakase Link
Projection Designers: Yana Biryukova, Hana Sooyeon Kim
Wig and Makeup Designer: Joanne Middleton-Weaver
Chorus Master: Suzanne Mallare Acton
Fiordiligi: Olivia Boen (soprano)
Dorabella: Emily Fons (mezzo-soprano)
Despina: Ann Toomey (soprano)
Ferrando: Joshua Blue (tenor)
Guglielmo: Thomas Lehman (baritone)
Don Alfonso): Edward Parks (baritone)
About Detroit Opera
Detroit Opera, one of the nation's most vibrant nonprofit arts organizations, aspires to influence the future of opera and dance with a goal of invigorating audiences through new and re-imagined productions, relevant to current times. It is creating an ambitious standard for American opera and dance that emphasizes community, accessibility, artistic risk-taking, and collaboration. Founded in 1971 as Michigan Opera Theatre by the late Dr. David DiChiera, Detroit Opera is led by President and CEO Patty Isacson Sabee; Yuval Sharon, Gary L. Wasserman Artistic Director; Music Director Roberto Kalb; Artistic Advisor for Dance Jon Teeuwissen; and Board Chairman Ethan Davidson. For more information, visit www.detroitopera.org. Follow the company on Facebook and Instagram (@DetroitOpera) and LinkedIn (Detroit Opera).
