The Cleveland Orchestra presents fully staged performances of Cos�� fan tutte at Severance Hall

Music Director Franz Welser-M��st to conduct Mozart's comic opera on March 2, 4, 6, and 8, 2010

CLEVELAND, October 7, 2009 ��� The Cleveland Orchestra brings Mozart's comic opera Cos�� fan tutte to Severance Hall for four performances of a fully staged production from the Zurich Opera. Music Director Franz Welser-M��st conducts the production, which he previously led in Zurich in collaboration with stage director Sven-Eric Bechtolf, set designer Rolf Glittenberg, and costume designer Marianne Glittenberg. An international cast of soloists appears with the Orchestra for the production, which will be performed in Italian with projected English supertitles. Members of the Cleveland Orchestra Opera Chorus, prepared by Robert Porco, will appear as soldiers, servants, and sailors in Mozart's "dramma buffa" (comic drama).

Singers Malin Hartelius, soprano (Fiordiligi); Anna Bonitatibus, soprano (Dorabella); Martina Jankov��, soprano (Despina); Javier Camarena, tenor (Ferrando); Ruben Drole, baritone (Guglielmo); and Oliver Widmer, bass (Don Alfonso) all appeared in the Zurich production. The entire principal cast of singers is reunited for these four performances at Severance Hall. More details on the production will appear in later releases.

When Franz Welser-M��st led the Zurich production, Marinella Polli wrote in Corriere del Ticino:
"It was a great musical evening above all because of the magic baton of Franz Welser-M��st, who offered a powerful reading of this tragicomedy in two acts, offering at the same time a powerful reading of Mozart's genius as well."

With Franz Welser-M��st, the Orchestra has re-established itself as an important operatic ensemble. Together, they gave five sold-out performances of Dvo��k's Rusalka at the Salzburg Festival in 2008. Last spring, Mr. Welser-M��st and The Cleveland Orchestra gave four sold-out staged performances of The Marriage of Figaro in Cleveland, marking the return of staged opera to Severance Hall for the first time in decades. Cos�� fan tutte continues a traversal of the remarkable three operas created by Mozart with librettist Lorenzo Da Ponte. In 2011, the Orchestra and Mr. Welser-M��st will complete the set with staged performances of Don Giovanni at Severance Hall.

The Lincoln Center Festival and The Cleveland Orchestra recently announced that beginning in 2011, the Orchestra and Franz Welser-M��st will appear every other year at the Lincoln Center Festival, performing concerts in the first year and subsequently ��� in 2013 and 2015 ��� performing as the pit orchestra at Lincoln Center's David H. Koch Theater for productions of the Vienna State Opera, where Franz Welser-M��st becomes general music director in 2010.

TICKET PRICES: $68-$222
The Severance Hall Ticket Office is located in the Smith Lobby. The entrance and 15-minute Ticket Service parking are along East Boulevard. Single tickets for all concerts in the 2009-10 season are now on sale. Severance Hall Ticket Office Hours:

M-F 9-6
Sat. 10-6

Closed Sundays and major holidays, except for those days with performances, when the Ticket Office opens three hours prior to the performance start time.

To charge tickets by telephone on American Express, Discover Card, MasterCard, and Visa, call Cleveland Orchestra Ticket Services at (216) 231-1111 (Cleveland) or 800-686-1141 during the regular ticket office hours listed above. Subscriptions and single tickets are also available through The Cleveland Orchestra's website at clevelandorchestra.com. The website offers secure ticket transactions with any major credit card and provides complete concert listings.

Sunday, February 28, 2010, at 3 p.m. at Severance Hall
Music Director Franz Welser-M��st will discuss Cos�� fan tutte with members of the cast. �ĮFree, but reservations are required.
Call (216) 231-1111 or 800-686-1141.

Tuesday, March 2, 2010, at 7 p.m.
Thursday, March 4, 2010, at 7 p.m.
Saturday, March 6, 2010, at 7 p.m.
Monday, March 8, 2010, at 7 p.m.

Severance Hall, 11001 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland

THE CLEVELAND ORCHESTRA
FRANZ WELSER-M��ST, conductor
MOZART Cos�� fan tutte ("Women are Like That")
Sung in Italian with projected English supertitles

Ticket Prices: $68-$222 ��� Call (216) 231-1111 or 800-686-1141, or order online at clevelandorchestra.com