Is Alfonso a Straw Misogynist or an enlightened man trying to cure both the men and women of their romantic illusions?
Do the women actually fall in love with the men in disguise (and vice-versa) or are they still in love with the people they were originally engaged to?
Does Despina actually believe that All Men Are Perverts is is she just saying that to tempt her employers into cheating on their boyfriends? Or has she maybe been treated horribly by some man and is now taking her revenge at the entire gender? Some performers sing the words "All of [the men] are the same" with underlying genuine bitterness.
Plus there's the Ambiguous Ending which leaves it completely open as to what choices the characters make in the end.
The quartet Alla bella Despinetta starts the section and then the sisters join in.
The trio "Soave sia il vento" is famous as one of Mozart's most beautiful ensemble numbers, with a gentle accompaniment under two soaring soprano voices and Alfonso's bass line. Like the similar duet from Le Nozze di Figaro, it became known to a wider audience through its use in a film, John Schlesinger's Sunday Bloody Sunday.
Rule 34: There is a gay porn version released under the title The School For Lovers.
Vindicated by History: The opera's cynicism and its All Women Are Lustful attitude gave it a very bad reputation in the Romantic era, leading it to be mostly unperformed for over a century after Mozart's death despite the acknowledged excellence of the music. In the 20th century it was successfully revived again and soon became part of the standard operatic repertoire along with Mozart and Da Ponte's two other collaborations.
