“I am on the threshold of fullness”, Mozart wrote in a letter in 1790, the same year as the premiere of Cosi fan tutte, or La scuola degli amanti. Christoph Wolff recounts this in his essay and makes it the title of the book that, translated by Ramón Andrés, was published by Acantilado. It tells, among many other things, that the libretto Da Ponte presented to Mozart bore the title that remained as the subtitle, but Mozart found the one we all know more suitable, for musical reasons, and surely some others. It should be noted that Da Ponte never acknowledged the name by which it has gone down in history and in his Memoirs; he only mentions it once in a small paragraph, where he recounts writing a third piece for a singer, to whom he gives no name, but it was Adriana del Bene, known as La Ferrarese, his lover at the time. They were El pastor Fido and La xifra, by Salieri, and La scuola degli amanti, by Mozart, “which occupies third place among the sisters born of this most celebrated father of harmony”. Not a word more. It is clear that the interpretation of the work between one and the other was conceptually very different, at least regarding the title. Mozart, for his part, gave prominence to female behavior, while Da Ponte sought, and found, a philosophical and groundbreaking reading, as well as much more researched and profound.

“I am on the threshold of fulfillment”, Mozart wrote in a letter in the year 1790, the same year as the premiere of Cosi fan tutte, or rather La scuola degli amanti. Christoph Wolff picks it up in his essay and makes it the title of the book which, translated by Ramón Andrés, was published by Acantilado. He tells, among many other things, that the libretto Da Ponte presented to Mozart bore the title that remained as the subtitle, but Mozart found more appropriate, for musical reasons, and surely some others, the one we all know. To wit, Da Ponte never acknowledged the name by which it has gone down in history and in his Memoirs; he only mentions it once in a small paragraph, where he recounts that he wrote a third piece for a singer, whom he does not name, but it was Adriana del Bene, known as La Ferrarese, his lover at the time. They were El pastor Fido and La cifra, by Salieri, and La scuola degli amanti, by Mozart, “which occupies third place among the sisters born of this most celebrated father of harmony”. Not another word. It is clear that the interpretation of the work between one and the other was conceptually very different, at least as far as the title is concerned. Mozart, for his part, gave prominence to female behavior, while Da Ponte sought, and found, a philosophical and groundbreaking reading, as well as much more elaborate and profound.