Opera in NYC: Falstaff at the Metropolitan Opera

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

Ailyn Pérez as Alice and Ambrogio Maestri in the title role of Verdi's "Falstaff."
Ailyn Pérez as Alice and Ambrogio Maestri in the title role of Verdi’s “Falstaff.” Photo: Karen Almond / Met Opera

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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Theater in NY and Beyond: Measure for Measure by Pushkin Theater and Cheek by Jowl

Theater in NY and Beyond: Measure for Measure by Pushkin Theater and Cheek by Jowl

Shakespeare’s ‘problem play’ with all the modern society’s ills co-produced by Moscow’s Pushkin Theater and London’s Cheek by Jowl with Declan Donnellan directing 

Scene from play by Shakespeare "Measure for Measure" by Cheek by Jowl theater company
MEASURE FOR MEASURE by Shakespeare, Paris, 2015 / Photo: Johan Persson

Two world famous theaters combine their forces to produce a dynamic and powerful play by Shakespeare which seems to be written about our fast-paced time. Or it could well be that no matter what time it is, people and the interplay of their motives stay the same.

Shakespeare, the great master of human soul and its hidden desires, had placed the story in the space close to his, and the brilliance of Declan Donnellan and Nick Ormerod is in shifting it to the modern time while keeping the story intact. The amazing thing is the fresh potency of the story that explores corruption, hypocrisy, and lies of those in power and the tight strings at their disposal to turn the world around in tune with their wishes. Opened in 2013 in Moscow, Russia, this “Measure for Measure” production had already traveled around the world getting rave reviews in Spain, France, Britain, and many other countries. See for yourself how up-to-date Shakespeare was when he wrote his timeless plays.

The performance is in Russian with English subtitles; it runs for intense 100 minutes without intermission.

Measure for Measure will be performed in Washington DC, Brooklyn NY, Boston MA, Los Angeles CA.

For Discounted Tickets Click Here

Beyond NY: Shakespeare Festival at Boscobel June 8 – September 4, 2017

Beyond NY: Shakespeare Festival at Boscobel June 8 – September 4, 2017

2017 Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival at Boscobel Mansion in Garrison, NY

This year summer season at Boscobel brings in another round of the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival.  The festival is already in its 31st season and going strong. The performance will be held at Boscobel mansion in Garrison, NY. The mansion is a historical landmark restored from the Federal-era house and the Beaux-Arts gardens and grounds 60 miles north from New York City. The majestic surroundings opening to vast view of Hudson river and its highlands give a unique backdrop for time-period as well as plays set in the modern time.

2017 Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival at Boscobel in Garrison, NY

We’ve been hard at work putting a brand new system in place that will make your experience of buying HVSF tickets faster and easier. On Wednesday, March 15, you’ll get the chance to try it out when tickets go on sale to the public!

via It’s almost time for tickets! — Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival

This season lineup includes Twelfth Night and Love’s Labor’s Lost by W. Shakespeare, Pride and Prejudice adapted from Jane Austen, The Book of Will by Lauren Gunderson and The General from America by Richard Nelson.

There is probably no reason to explain the fable behind the play by Shakespeare and an adaptation from Jane Austin. We are all familiar with the main points and are ready for new staging. The Book of Will was written by Laurie Gunderson who was named “the second most produced living playwright of 16-17 season” by the American Theater Magazine. The story is a historical drama set in Elizabethan London. Its full of people, noises and colors of that time.  The Globe theater is a setting for some of the scenes. In the interview published on the HVSF blog Gunderson shares her ideas about storytelling and on bringing women into play, something that wasn’t a customary thing at that time. This year performance of The Book will be its HVSF premiere.

The General from America by Richard Nelson is a return to HVSF scene. The first time it was performed here in 1996. Set at a time of the Revolutionary War, it has a lot of stuff going from meetings of congress to protests to the war itself.

Plan to arrive early to enjoy the gardens and the scenery of Hudson river and its Highlands.

Book your tickets here.

Venue: Boscobel House and Gardens, Garrison, NY                2017 HVSF Dates: June 8 – September 4, 2017