It’s an effervescent and humorous tale of putting young love to the test, now taken to a far-out era of peace and love.

SFCM Opera and Musical Theatre department delivered two (sold-out) performances of Così fan tutte in November—with the new twist of setting it in the colorful San Francisco of the late 1960s. “It was really fun to put a slightly modern spin on my role, and I’m sure my castmates felt the same way about their own characters,” said Arden Hearne, who portrayed Fiordiligi. “Getting to play with the concept of hippies in opera was an absolute ball!” she added. Hearne is a student of Cathy Cook. 

SFCM students perform on stage.

“The words and music for this opera were written by men, the story is set on its path by the male characters, and yet the title assumes that, ‘Thus do all women,’” said Opera and Musical Theatre Chair Heather Mathews. “Setting the opera in a time in our recent history where the voice of women's opinions and need for equal rights started to rise, our version entertains that it is true that ‘thus do all women,’ in that all women have an opinion, desires, a voice, and a need to carve their own path in this life even if that path is not defined by society's past norms.”

This production utilized the evolving immersive digital opera hall.

Featuring some of the most sublime music Mozart wrote, the opera featured a double cast performing with the SFCM Orchestra. “From a purely musical perspective, one of the things that made this production special was the way our casts embraced our bold approach to ornamentation, experimenting with ornaments and cadenzas that were uniquely suited to their voices,” said Musical and Managing Director Curt Pajer. “The students got to explore their creativity of expression while remaining faithful to the stylistic rules and practices of Mozart's time, resulting in two very different interpretations from the two casts, in the way that we believe Mozart intended,” he added.

"Così fan tutte" cast members.

While at first nervous to take on the role of Fiordiligi, Hearne credits Mathews and Pajer for preparing her to perform at her best, and have fun at the same time, “My favorite part of the whole process was becoming close to my classmates and getting to act and play with so many different iterations of each character,” Hearne said. “For me, having chemistry on the stage and creating relationship dynamics is the most fun part of any production.”

Arden Hearne performs as Fiordiligi.

The SFCM Opera and Musical Theatre program draws exceptionally talented young singers from around the world and provides them with advanced training in vocal style, acting, stage movement, and other essentials of stagecraft. Each year, SFCM produces four fully staged opera and musical theatre productions with full or chamber orchestra. SFCM is also unique in that it holds an annual undergraduate opera, giving performance opportunities to students of all ages. Recent fully staged operas have included L’elisir d’amore, Don Giovanni, Mansfield Park, Postcard from Morocco, The Rake’s Progress, Little Women the Musical, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder, Proving Up, and The Consul.

Learn more about studying Opera and Musical Theatre at SFCM.