Falstaff, Opera by G. Verdi
Giuseppe Verdi's Falstaff is a comic opera in three acts based on William Shakespeare's The Merry Wives of Windsor, as well as some other plays which featured the iconic Sir John Falstaff, including Henry IV, parts I and II. The Teatro dell’Opera di Roma offers modern audiences the chance to experience one of Verdi's true smash hits, an enduringly popular opera that was subject to standing ovations and calls for encores when it was first performed. Falstaff's premiere took place on 9 February 1893 at Teatro alla Scala in Milan, and this staging in Rome contains all the same merriment, mix-ups and mayhem of the original.
Verdi collaborated with Arrigo Boito for the libretto of Falstaff. He was the writer who had previously worked with the great composer on the revised version of Simon Boccanegra in 1881 and on Otello, also based on a Shakespeare play, in 1887. Having been away from the operatic scene for some years, Verdi was almost coming out of retirement when he decided to turn to the Bard as his inspiration for a new opera. Unlike Macbeth and Otello, which Verdi had adapted into operas earlier in his career, Falstaff struck a very different tone due to its comic nature, the other examples being very much more dramatic in their style. Consequently, at the end of his career, Verdi was able to score an opera with a life-affirming and exuberant feeling which was, nevertheless, no less musically sophisticated than his earlier works.
In Falstaff's opening act, we learn that the rogue-like Sir John is all but penniless and has debts to pay he can barely manage. The self-confident knight comes up with a plan, however, hoping he will be able to seduce a pair of married ladies, thereby gaining access, he thinks, to their wealth. Unfortunately for the near-destitute Falstaff, the women see through his plan almost immediately and set out to show him up for what he really is, a rogue, albeit a charming one. Part of what makes the comedy in the opera so enduring is that Falstaff never seems to doubt himself or his plan, even though he is so painfully transparent. As the action unfolds, the conman is faced with deception and double-dealing himself, but will he find a way to pay off his debts? Audiences at Teatro Costanzi, as the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma is also known, can expect to find out with many laughs and memorable arias along the way.
Located in the heart of the Italian capital, Teatro dell’Opera di Roma is a delightful venue to enjoy such a joyful opera, and, in Falstaff, the music and comedy combine to forge one of Verdi's best-loved works.