Falstaff - 2011
Falstaff - 2011
Falstaff - 2011
Falstaff - 2011
Falstaff - 2011
Falstaff -2011
Falstaff - 2011
Falstaff - 2011
Falstaff - 2011
Falstaff - 2011
Falstaff - 2011
Falstaff - 2011
Falstaff - 2011
Falstaff - 2011
Falstaff - 2011
Falstaff -2011
Falstaff - 2011
Falstaff - 2011
Falstaff - 2011
Falstaff - 2011
Falstaff - 2011
ACT I
Scene I
Inside the Garter Inn
Falstaff, who is busy sealing two letters as the curtain rises, is upbraided by Dr Caius, who accuses him of causing drunken confusion in Caius's house. Falstaff calmly accepts the charge, at which Caius accuses Pistol and Bardolph of getting him drunk and stealing his money. After some vain searching for funds, Falstaff lambasts his companions before celebrating his enormous belly in a suitably grandiose climax. Then, in a relatively stable musical episode, the central thread of the drama is first put forth: Falstaff reveals that he has amorous designs on both Alice Ford and Meg Page, the wives of rich townsfolk. But Pistol and Bardolph refuse to deliver his love letters, saying it is beneath their "honour" to do so. Falstaff sends off his page with the letters and then, in the famous "Onore" monologue, excoriates the traitors and their high-flown ideals.
Scene II
The garden outside Ford's house
Meg Page and her friend Mistress Quickly meet Alice and her daughter Nannetta on the threshold of Alice's house. Meg and Alice discover that Falstaff has sent them identical letters. In an elaborate unaccompanied quartet, they pour scorn on the amorous knight and vow to revenge themselves on him. From the other side of the stage appears a male quintet (Fenton, Caius, Bardolph, Pistol and Ford) who, unaware of the ladies, superimpose their own ensemble. As the ladies fade into the background, Bardolph and Pistol warn Ford of Falstaff's designs; Ford vows to keep a close watch. The ladies return and the two groups, at the sight of each other, disperse, leaving Fenton and Nannetta together. They snatch a further few moments, then the man reappear, Ford announcing that he will visit Falstaff in disguise to ascertain his intentions. The final of the scene involves a masterly super-imposition of the women's and men's ensembles. The ladies have the last word: a triumphantly derisive reprise of Falstaff's most impassioned epistolary style.
ACT II
Scene I
The Garter Inn
The opening of the act is extraordinary for the extravagant manner in which musical ideas match verbal tags: first as Pistol and Bardolph make elaborate, chest-beating penance before Falstaff; then as Mistress Quickly introduces herself with a low "Reverenza"; then as she expresses the amorous states of Alice and Meg with the phrase "Povera donna!" and finally as she makes an appointment for Falstaff with the former "dalle due alle tre". Quickly leaves and Falstaff has time for a gleeful episode of self-congratulation before Ford is shown in. In the ensuing duet, Ford offers Falstaff money to seduce one Alice Ford and he agrees, saying that he has already arranged an appointment "between two and three". As the knight goes off to pretty himself, Ford is left alone to brood on what he has heard. The two men show exaggerated politeness before leaving the scene together to an orchestral reprise of " Va, vecchio John". Our knight, the orchestra seems to tell us, is winning the day.
Scene II
A room in Ford's house
Meg and Alice are soon joined by Quickly, who gives a detailed narrative of her interview with Falstaff, replete with mocking repetitions of "dalle due alle tre". Realizing that the hours of assignation is almost upon them, the women hurry about their preparations, ushering in a large laundry basket, but the busy mood is interrupted by Nannetta, who reveals that Ford has ordered her to marry old Dr Caius. Alice will have none of this, and assures Nannetta of her support. Alice then settles down to strum her lute, and is soon joined by Falstaff. Then Quickly rushes in to announce the imminent arrival of Meg Page. Falstaff hides behind a screen as Meg enters to announce the arrival of an insanely jealous Ford. He appears at the head of a band of followers, searches the laundry basket, then rushes off to seek his wife's lover elsewhere; Falstaff is then wedged painfully into the basket and covered with dirty clothes. A brief moment of calm ensues as Nannetta and Fenton meet and slip behind the screen for a few moments together, but very soon the energy is again released as the men reappear to continue their search. They kiss each other behind the screen: the men are sure they have trapped their quarry and they prepare to pounce, but they find Nannetta and Fenton, who are rebuked by Ford. But Bardolph seems to see Falstaff outside, and the men rush off again, allowing the women to summon their pages who hoist the basket up to the window. The men return just in time to see Falstaff tipped into the river below, and the act closes with a riotous fanfare of triumph.
ACT III
Scene I
Outside the Garter Inn
Falstaff's opening monologue is certainly the most fragmented passage in the opera, occasional reminiscences jostling with a series of violent changes as the knight bemoans his disgrace, calls for wine, and finally revives as the liquor tingles through his body to the accompaniment of a magnificent orchestral trill. The ensuing duet with Quickly repeats some of the motifs of their earlier encounter as Falstaff is again convinced, at first with some difficulty, of Alice's affection. Quickly paints an evocative picture of the supernatural ambience and the evocation is taken up by Alice, who has been observing the scene with Ford, Meg, Nannetta, Fenton and Caius. The scene then plays itself out in a relaxed musical setting, as the plotters decide on their disguises. Quickly overhears Ford and Caius, who are planning Caius's marriage to Nannetta that very night, and privately vows to stop them.
Scene II
Windsor forest
Distant horn-calls introduce Fenton and his extended sonnet "Dal labbro il canto", is also significant, because the delicate atmosphere established in intervals by the young lovers trough the opera now becomes the dominant strain in the music. Fenton is rudely interrupted by Alice, who provides him with a disguise before they rush off to take their position. Falstaff appears and solemnly counts the 12 bells of midnight. He is joined by Alice, and a fleeting repetition of their earlier meeting ensues before Meg enters to warn of an approaching pack of witches. As Falstaff throws himself to the ground, fearing death if he sets eyes on these supernatural beings, Nannetta begins a delicate invocation. Then the group begin tormenting Falstaff and their gleeful chorus, "Pizzica, pizzica", is halted only when Bardolph gets carried away and allows his hood to slip. Falstaff immediately recognizes him and bestows on him a generous torrent of abuse. A gentle minuet introduces Caius and "The Queen of the Fairies". They are joined by another couple and both pairs receive Ford's blessing. But with Ford's final words, the deception is revealed: "The Queen of the Fairies" turns out to be Bardolph in disguise, and the other couple are -of course- Fenton and Nannetta. This time it is Ford's turn to admit defeat and he agrees to accept his daughter's marriage. Falstaff leads off the final ensemble, a comic fugue to the words "Tutto nel mondo è burla"( "Everything in the world is a joke").
Orchestra, Choir and Corps de Ballet of the Arena di Verona
New production of the Fondazione Arena di Verona