MOUNT VERNON — Cornell College’s Lyric Theatre presents Mozart’s “The School for Lovers,” a coming-of-age comedy about four immature young people lost in their naïve visions of self-importance and an artificial reality, Jan. 25-27 at Armstrong Theatre.
Performances are at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday. General admission is $8 for adults and $5 for senior citizens, non-Cornell students and youths 15-18. Tickets may be purchased at the door or reserved by calling 895-4293.
In this comic masterpiece, a frivolous wager is made between a cynical philosopher and two friends, who want to test the fidelity of their sweethearts. The deception: The two friends are ordered to a military duty only to return a short time later in disguise. Will their fiancees remain true or will they succumb to the ardent advances of their phony lovers? In the end, having been “schooled” in the ways of the real world, the couples learn wisdom, understanding and the meaning of the age-old adage, “To err is human, to forgive is divine.”
Premiered in 1790, “The School for Lovers” (“Così fan tutte”) is the third and final collaboration between composer Mozart and Lorenzo Da Ponte. The Cornell production, a joint effort by Cornell’s theater and music departments, is directed by music instructor Jonathon Thull, with set and costume design by Scott Olinger, assistant professor of theater and communications studies, and lighting design by Jonathan Reed, technical director.