The idea was conceived by conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen and soprano Karita Mattila, Finnish natives who both reside in the U.S. but flew to Finland when international borders began closing due to the pandemic, and then found themselves virtually unable to return to the U.S.[1] Journalist and novelist Minna Lindgren was commissioned in mid May 2020 and given a little over a month to create a libretto,[2] which she wrote to selected music from Mozart's Così fan tutte and an aria each from Don Giovanni and The Magic Flute.
[2] The completed opera premiered in Helsinki on 28 August 2020, directed by Jussi Nikkilä and conducted by Salonen,[4] with a total of 12 performances through 23 October 2020, subtitled in English, Finnish, and Swedish.
[5] Mattila is a featured performer in the production, playing a parody of herself as an internationally renowned opera diva trapped in Finland because of the pandemic, and also singing the role of Despina.
[8] The Pacific Opera Project in California also staged their COVID-19 adaptation using the same title, Covid fan tutte, in November 2020 as a drive-in production in a parking lot.
An opera diva rails on her phone to a friend, complaining that she is accidentally stuck in Finland, in a dreadful rented flat, when she should be jet-setting around the world singing leading roles at top venues in productions that have now all been cancelled, without pay, because of the coronavirus.