Falstaff

At the age of almost 80, Giuseppe Verdi, who had already achieved mythical status, once again achieved sensational success with this opera. Using the brilliant libretto of the much younger Arrigo Boito as a starting point, he created a masterpiece of comic opera after five decades of tragic works. Although it is based on the same material as Otto Nicolai’s The Merry Wives of Windsor, Verdi succeeded in writing a distinct, subversive version of the comedy. The behaviour of the ageing Sir John Falstaff, a devious freeloader, rake and would-be ladykiller, causes uproar in the petty-bourgeois household of the Windsors. Not only does he swindle his way through life, but this playboy also believes he can make advances to two women with identical love letters. The indignant yet shrewd women do not put up with this and prepare to strike back. Both wise and revealing, full of caricatures and highly detailed characterisation, the ageing Verdi’s Falstaff score is highly natural and visually evocative, full of wordplay, rhythmic finesse and musical associations. To a much greater extent than in his earlier works, the orchestra provides a quick-witted and pithy commentary throughout the opera. With his larger-than-life characters, turbulent ensembles and situational parodies, this work is an invaluable source of inspiration for a truly global musical theatre, just as Shakespeare would have wished.