Photo Flash: A Simple Bet Puts Love to the Test at Lyric Opera's COSÌ FAN TUTTE

Così fan tutte, Mozart's bittersweet romantic comedy, opens tomorrow - Saturday, February 17 - at Lyric Opera of Chicago with seven performances through March 16 at the Lyric Opera House, 20 N. Wacker Drive, Chicago. Tickets start at $49 and are available now at lyricopera.org/Così or at 312-827-5600.

The most sophisticated and intimate of the three Mozart/da Ponte operas, Così fan tutte (1790) is a "school for lovers" story in which two couples learn a great deal about their true feelings for each other. The cynically mischievous Don Alfonso (Alessandro Corbelli) stirs the pot with two earnest young officers, Ferrando (Andrew Stenson) and Guglielmo (Joshua Hopkins), betting that their fiancées, sisters Fiordiligi (Ana María Martínez ) and Dorabella (Marianne Crebassa), cannot remain faithful for 24 hours. The officers depart as if to go to war, then return disguised to woo each other's beloved. Don Alfonso manipulates the proceedings in cahoots with the sisters' maid, the ever-resourceful Despina (Elena Tsallagova/Lyric debut).

James Gaffigan (Lyric debut) conducts the production, originally directed by John Cox and set in the elegant casino resort town of Monte Carlo on the eve of World War One. Bruno Ravella is revival director. Robert Perdziola is set and costume designer, Chris Maravich is lighting designer, and Michael Black is chorus master.

Performance dates for Così fan tutte are Feb. 17, 21, 26, Mar. 13 and 16 at 7:30pm; and Mar. 4 and 8 at 2pm. For tickets and information call (312) 827-5600 or go to lyricopera.org/Così.

Estimated running time is 3 hours 25 minutes, including one 30-minute intermission. Così fan tutte will be sung in Italian with projected English translations above the stage.

The opening-night performance of Così fan tutte can be heard live locally on 98.7WFMT and globally on wfmt.com, beginning at7:15pm.