Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Translated from the Italian, Cosi fan tutte means "That's how all women act"; the libretto, the last of three Lorenzo da Ponte wrote for Mozart, concerns the behavior of women, particularly the behavior of young women in the throes of romantic love. Are they fickle? Are their affections mutable? Their virtue flexible? In Cosi fan tutte, Mozartand Da Ponte answer with resounding affirmatives.
In the nearly 200 years since it was first performed at the Burgtheater in Vienna, Cosi fan tutte has waxed and waned and waxed again in popularity. The music, with its richness of melody, harmony, and texture, and its perfection of form, has never been considered less than brilliant. The libretto, however, has not been as well received as evidenced by attempts in the 19th century to "improve" it, making it more possible to the overly decorous sensibilities of the Victorians.
In examining the reaction of 19th-century opera goers, the noted British composer, conductor, and musicologist Spike Hughes laments, "The opera must indeed have seemed to them sadly untypical of the Divine Mozart, who not only seemed to enjoy this trivialities, not to say indecencies, of an exquisitely constructed libretto, but even went so far as to squander an unending stream of lovely music on worthless characters and contemptible situations."
The "worthless" characters are Ferrando and Guglielmo, two Italian army officers in love with two Neapolitan sisters, Fiodiligi and Dorabella. The "contemptible" situation is a wager and the comedy of deception that ensues: bragging of their ladies' fidelity, the two officers are challenged by a sage but cynical Don Alfonso who declares, "The faithfulness of woman is like the phoenix: everybody has heard about it, but nobody has ever actually seen it."
In the 20th century Cosi fan tutte has once again secured its rightful and prestigious place among the world's great operas. This volume, containing the full score with Italian and German text, is reproduced from one of the most complete, accurate, and scholarly editions available. It also contains a new translation of the German editors' frontmatter and critical commentary, which includes a review of dubious passages and text problems. Beautifully and clearly engraved, this modestly priced edition of Cosi fan tutte will be welcomed by musicians, students, and all opera lovers.

Author notes provided by Syndetics

In 1769, at the age of only 13, Mozart was made concertmaster at the court of the Archbishop of Salzburg. By 1781 he had become unhappy in Salzburg and quarreled with the Archbishop. As a result, he was dismissed from his position and left for Vienna. In 1782, while in Vienna, Mozart married Constanze Weber. Although plagued by troubles, including the deaths of four of his children and his wife's ill health, he composed some of his finest works in Vienna. These included the operas The Abduction from the Seraglio (1782) and Cosi fan tutte (1790), his famous last three symphonies, several piano concertos, and many other works.

By 1788 Mozart was seriously in debt. One reason was that audiences began finding some of his latest music difficult and stayed away from his concerts. In the summer of 1791, he began suffering from fever and severe headaches. Later that year he fell into a coma and died on December 5, leaving behind his last great work, the Requiem mass, which was left unfinished. Because he was so poor, his coffin was dumped into an unmarked pauper's grave, and his place of burial remains unknown.

Mozart's talent as a musician was tremendous. He could compose whole symphonies and operas in his head, needing only to write them out for performance. His gifts as a composer of endless streams of melodies, beautifully harmonized, are astounding. His symphonies and concerti are brilliant; his chamber music, stunning. His operas Don Giovanni (1787), The Magic Flute (1791), and The Marriage of Figaro (1786), are among the best-known and beloved operas performed today. His brief life has produced nearly two centuries of deserved adulation from the trained musician, the music scholar, and unsophisticated listener.

(Bowker Author Biography)