Local opera lovers will be able to end the month of February and begin the month of March with a pair of productions of two of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s most popular and acclaimed operas. The Academy of Vocal Arts Opera Theater will present “Cosi fan tutte” (“Everybody’s Doing It”), Feb. 22 through March 1. The Curtis Institute of Music Opera Theater will perform “Le nozze di Figaro” (“The Marriage of Figaro”), Feb. 27 through March 2.

 Mozart composed “Cosi” in collaboration with the librettist, Lorenzo da Ponte. The opera tells the story of two soon-to-be wed couples navigating the challenges of trust and desire. Their efforts are complicated by an older (and wiser) friend who sets up a test that both couples both fail and meet.

 Conductor Robert Kahn explained, “Mozart’s ‘Cosi’ is not only one of the greatest operas ever written, but also one of humanity’s crowning artistic achievements. Audiences attending this opera are sure to laugh a great deal and experience Mozart composing his most heartfelt and emotionally profound music. I’m incredibly thrilled to share this extraordinary opera with our AVA community.”

 Stage director Jose Maria Condemi added, “’Cosi’ is a brilliant exploration of love, trust and human nature wrapped in Mozart’s unmatched musical genius. This opera is rightfully a classic because it is both timeless and deeply relatable, which is why it continues to captivate audiences around the world.”

 AVA will perform “Cosi fan tutte” in its Helen Corning Warden Theater at 1920 Spruce Street in Center City Philadelphia. For ticket information call 215-735-1685 or visit avaopera.org.

 Curtis’ production of “The Marriage of Figaro” will be overseen by conductor Nicholas McGegan and stage director Marcus Shields. Together, and with the talented singers and orchestral players of the Curtis Institute of Music, they will perform one of the most nearly perfect balances between music and theater. 

 Its libretto, another by Lorenzo da Ponte, is based on the second of three plays written by Pierre-Augustin Beaumarchais centering on the antics of Figaro, the “Barber of Seville” – the title of the first of the trio, as well as the title of the opera by Gioachino Rossini, composed several decades later. This time around, Figaro, himself, is planning to marry his beloved fellow-servant Susannah. The Count, who Figaro aided so successfully in “Barber,” now throws a monkey wrench into the proceedings by attempting to revive the “Droit du Seigneur” (“Right of the Lord”), which he, himself, only recently abolished. 

 Needless to say, Figaro and Susannah combine their imaginations to unhinge the count’s evil plans. “The Marriage of Figaro” plays the Kimmel Center’s Perelman Theater Feb. 27 through March 2. Visit curtis.edu for ticket information.

 Chamber Orchestra

 David Hayes will conduct the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia in “The Best of Haydn” Friday, Feb. 14, at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, Feb. 16, at 2:30 p.m. in the Perelman Theater. Cellist Tommy Mesa will be the soloist in Haydn’s Cello Concerto No. 1 in C major. The program will also include the master’s Symphony No. 66 in A major.

 For ticket information call 215-545-1739 or visit chamberorchestra.org.

 Lessons and Carols for ‘Candlemas’

 The musical forces of three local Episcopal parishes came together Sunday, Feb. 2, to celebrate the ancient Feast of “Candlemas,” the popular moniker for the dual feasts of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple in Jerusalem. 

 The “Service of Lessons and Carols for Candlemas” was at the Episcopal Church of the Redeemer, Bryn Mawr. The parish’s director of music, Andrew Senn, and his choristers were joined by the singing forces of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Chestnut Hill, and St. Thomas’ Episcopal Church, Whitemarsh. The directors of music of both parishes – Andrew Kotylo and Michael Smith, respectively – were also on hand to conduct the combined chorus of more than 70 and accompany at the church’s pipe organ.

 St. Paul’s Kotylo, with St. Thomas’ Smith at the organ console, conducted the cathedral-size choir in a somber yet celebratory reading of Stephen Jackson’s “Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silent.” The musicians projected the clear references to the ancient tune on which the anthem is based yet proffered with equal deftness the flow of its more modern harmonies.

 With Redeemer’s Senn at the console, Kortylo led an equally convincing interpretation of Kathleen Thomerson’s “I Want to Walk as a child of the Light.” He retained the conceptual sweet innocence of its child’s hymn inspiration and paired it with an effortless flow of its sumptuous harmonies.

 Smith conducted the choir in a haunting rendition of Gustav Holst’s “Nunc Dimittis” and Senn conducted a splendid unaccompanied performance of Johannes Eccard’s “When Mary to the Temple Went.”

 You can contact NOTEWORTHY at Michael-caruso@comcast.net.