Opera in NYC: Falstaff at the Metropolitan Opera
Verdi’s final opera Falstaff fills the house with magnificent ensemble singing. Bring the Metropolitan Opera’s magnificent experience to your home via streaming
The review and the cast is based on the 2019 performances
Robert Carsen’s vibrant and colorful 2013 production of Verdi’s Falstaff brings together a powerful ensemble of opera stars with Ambrogio Maestri, baritone, in the title role, Ailyn Perez, soprano as Alice Ford, and Golda Schultz, soprano as Alice’s daughter Nannetta. Carsen’s clever shift from Shakespearean time to the mid-20th century expresses complex themes of renewal, gender equality, fidelity, and trust while telling an enlightening and joyful story full of lighthearted jokes, fateful misunderstandings, and a happy ending.
Falstaff, the last of Verdi’s operas, was based on Shakespeare’s comedy The Merry Wives of Windsor. The majestic music by the Italian master combined with a witty storyline in the libretto written by Arrigo Boito, an opera composer in his own right, makes for a triumphant career finale for Verdi. In this season’s MetOpera production, Maestri’s confidence and gusto in the portrayal of a fateful Falstaff fit perfectly with the rest of the powerful cast. Brightly colored stage design and vivid costumes add hilarity and buoyancy to the plot. The free-flowing ensemble singing creates a production that is a lively fete for the actors and a delight for opera lovers.
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In 1889 Verdi, who was enjoying his semiretirement after a long career of opera writing, was once again approached by Arrigo Boito, a close collaborator and his librettist for Otello and Macbeth, to compose a comic opera. Boito knew of Verdi’s desire to succeed not only in the composition of scores for tragic scenes and deep-rooted historical pathos, but also for a crowd-pleasing comedy.
Knowing the maestro’s awe for Shakespeare and counting on the wild success of the other two operas, Otello and Macbeth, Boito convinced Verdi to take on the challenge. The opera premiered in Milan in 1893 and two years later was staged at the MetOpera in New York.
Fast moving and rapidly swirling from one scene to the next the score proves to be challenging for the singers and the audience. Yet its sheer excitement and unstoppable joy make a contagious brew. Maestri, who in the words of the New York Time review “owns the title role” is repulsive in the boldness of his advances and pitiful in his simplicity and naiveté.
In Act II the silly rendezvous scenes, and mischievous hiding under the table and in the laundry basket coupled with the grotesquely orchestrated ransacking of the house end with a splash of water from the Thames. The emboldened women fool through intrigue a pathetic villain Falstaff and a jealous husband Ford, sung energetically by Juan Jesus Rodriguez. Keeping the pace, the tender singing and genuine performance further unfold the plot of the story. A festive finale brings about the blessing of the young lovers and Falstaff’s realization of being tricked by the smart women of Windsor. Given the dark endings of Verdi’s other operas, Falstaff’s uplifting closing scene (a celebratory wedding) doubles the joy for this opera experience.
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