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According to Stendhal, to enjoy an opera sung in a language that we do not know, it would be enough to have just a basic outline of the plot. In my view, in the case of Mozart, this would mean neglecting the close attention he always paid not only to the dramaturgy but to every word of his operas’ libretti; and, as regards those of Da Ponte, it would mean overlooking three great comedies. Not for nothing, Stendhal was one of the detractors of “Così Fan Tutte”, joining his to Wagner’s, Beethoven’s and other’s hasty and superficial misjudgments that condemned in particular its text as frivolous, if not “immoral and trivial”, “unworthy of Mozart’s genius” (so did Beethoven, and yes, “Così” is not “Fidelio”!) - But let me say… Trivial??? You’ll never know what you’ve missed! - Perhaps, the lack of a well-established literary source (unlike the other two Mozart-Da Ponte operas) left this libretto more vulnerable to criticism, but actually, many elements of the plot had an ancient and noble
