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Act I begins with Ferrando and Guglielmo, two recently engaged officers, discussing how certain they are of their fiancées fidelity. A jaded bachelor, Don Alfonso, tired with the men’s conversation and in the belief that women are indecisive, claims that he can prove them wrong within the day. He convinces the officers to pretend they have been called away for duty, return in disguises and attempt to seduce the other’s fiancée to test their faithfulness.
At their home, the sisters – Dorabella and Fiordiligi – are admiring pictures of their fiancés but their happiness is short-lived when Don Alfonso arrives to tell them that the officers have been called away. Saddened by this news, the girls lament the situation and hope they will arrive back safely. Despina, the girls’ maid, is as cynical about men as Don Alfonso is about women. She believes that men are always unfaithful so it is unfair to expect women to remain faithful; therefore she encourages the sisters to ignore their promises to their fiancés. This upsets both Dorabella and Fiordiligi and the girls leave Despina. Don Alfonso appears shortly after and bribes Despina in helping him win the wager, which Despina duly agrees to.
Don Alfonso then brings Ferrando and Guglielmo, disguised as Albanians, to the house. When the sisters see them, they are disgusted and do not respond to either of the men’s attempts at seduction. Ferrando and Guglielmo trick the sisters into believing they are heartbroken by the rejections and they pretend to ingest poison. Despina, in cahoots with the men, arrives at the house disguised as a doctor and ‘cures’ the men. Despite the girls’ refusal to kiss the ‘Albanians’, the incident tests their loyalty and they find themselves beginning to warm to the men’s advances.
Act II
In the sisters’ bedroom, Despina is trying to convince the girls to give into the Albanian’s advances, telling them that their fiancés have probably already forgotten them. Fiordiligi and Dorabella discuss their feelings and decide that there is nothing wrong with harmless flirting – at least until their fiancées return from war. Meanwhile, Don Alfonso and Despina are doing whatever they can to aid the men in their seduction attempts, coaxing the girls to agree to spend time with them.
Guglielmo is successful in getting Dorabella to exchange a Ferrando’s necklace for a locket of his own, which enrages Ferrando. Guglielmo is pleased when he learns that his fiancée, Fiordiligi, has remained faithful, and gloats about it in front of his friend. Dorabella begins to persuade her sister to follow in her footsteps and give into Ferrando, but Fiordiligi remains steadfast and instead proposes that they go and be with their fiancés. Before she can follow through with her plan, Ferrando appears and woos her. Fiordiligi soon succumbs to his advances, angering Guglielmo.
The two men are furious that they lost the wager and that their fiancées were so easily swayed by the other. Don Alfonso encourages the men to forgive the girls and continue with the deceit. The men agree and a double wedding is planned, with Despina disguised as the notary. Soon afterwards, they hear music in the distance indicating that their real fiancées have returned. The girls panic and send the ‘Albanians’ into hiding, which allows the men to shed their disguises and ‘return’ home to the girls without them knowing.
Guglielmo and Ferrando arrive at the house, eager to see their fiancées. Don Alfonso shows the men the marriage contracts and they act angry. The sisters appeal to the men to forgive them for their indiscretions. The men reveal that they were in fact the Albanians and confess everything. Don Alfonso encourages the couples to forgive each other and reunite, telling them that they have now learned their lessons. The couples rejoice into the night. |
