FALSTAFF (Wiener Staatsoper)****

  

By Cal 

Link: https://play.wiener-staatsoper.at/event/52bb9a84-0a6d-4cf2-81f3-dda03a009ac1/play 

Available until: 23^rd February, about 6pm

Giuseppe Verdi isn’t really best-known for his comedies. His second opera, Un giorno di regno, was a comedy, but that one bombed. Verdi really wanted another go at writing a comedy, but everyone wanted him to write tragedies. Gioachino Rossini even said he didn’t think Verdi was capable of writing a comedy.

Verdi did have the opportunity to go in a vague comedy sort of direction when he was offered a libretto to The Taming of the Shrew, but Verdi wasn’t keen and I have to say I don’t find The Taming of the Shrew very funny, apart from Christopher Sly. It was only right at the end of Verdi’s career that the opportunity finally came. When Arrigo Boito, librettist of Verdi’s Simon Boccanegra and Otello, found out that Verdi wanted to compose a comedy, he sneaked off to write a libretto based on The Merry Wives of Windsor (with little bits of Henry IV Part I and II sneaked in). And finally, right at the end of his career, Verdi got to write his comic opera.

It’s fair to say he proved Rossini wrong. It’s not Verdi’s greatest opera musically, though there are some great moments, but his music is perfect for the libretto and the story. His music characterises all the characters brilliantly, especially Falstaff, and although it’s full of surface comedy, there’s enough emotion in the music to believe in the characters as real people. Zubin Mehta conducts with a light and humorous touch and if the orchestra weren’t having fun with the music, they hid it very, very well.

David McVicar is quite well-known in our family for his dark productions that get rid of most of the comedy, but that definitely can’t be applied to Falstaff. His characters are animated and fun to watch, there’s definitely lots of comedy and the final scene is magical. Charles Edwards’ stage design is really gorgeous, especially the final scene where they’re all in disguise. The moon and the tree look really great and Paul Keogan’s lighting is perfect for moonlight. I guess it wouldn’t be David McVicar if there wasn’t a little bit of darkness, but the scene isn’t even slightly dark in the figurative sense. There are also some great costumes from Gabrielle Dalton, especially the Fairy Queen costumes. It’s fair to say one of them looked better than the other one.

One surprise with this production was the number of children. I wouldn’t have said it was a children’s opera, but Raphael Grotrian seems far from traumatised as Falstaff’s page Robin, and the students of the Wiener Staatsoper ballet academy make a lovely addition to the final scene.

The Merry Wives might be the title characters in Shakespeare’s play, but the play would probably fall apart without a good Falstaff and the opera would be no different. Luckily, they have a really magnificent Falstaff from Ambrogio Maestri. I’m surprised they managed to fit his personality into the laundry basket. He is so much fun and he sings the role brilliantly too. Though I’m not so sure he needs Alice and Meg – he seems far from short of female attention, with his girlfriend Doll Tearsheet, who doesn’t usually appear in the opera, making an appearance

The Merry Wives are a lot of fun too. Carmen Giannattasko and Lilly Jorstad are a glamorous Alice and Meg and they’re also very funny and sing the roles beautifully. They also do really well at showing how intelligent their characters are. Marie-Nicole Lemieux isn’t quite so glamorous as Mistress Quickly, but she’s fun and cheeky. Hila Fahima is sweet in voice and manner as Nannetta, though Paolo Tanale’s exuberant Fenton will grow up just like Falstaff if Nannetta doesn’t take him in hand. He really seems to enjoy sneaking around and he’s very amorous. I always thought Fenton was quite a nice lad, if a bit wet so it’s interesting to see this new side of him, even if I am worried for Nannetta.

Ludovic Tézier definitely counts as luxury casting as Ford. He’s in very fine voice and very good at the comedy, but he also brought across Ford’s emotions very well. It must be very galling to think your wife prefers Falstaff to you. Herwig Pecoraro (Bardolfo) and Riccardo Fassi (Pistola) are also great and Thomas Ebenstein switches off his usual charm very well as Dr Cajus.

 

Falstaff might not be Verdi’s best, but it is definitely his most fun.