The irrepressible Sir John Falstaff has been variously described as a braggart and swaggart, the prince of rascals and by Giuseppe Verdi himself, “an amusing rogue.”
No wonder the wealthy and successful composer agreed to write one more opera, his only comedic work, as he approached 80. “Falstaff” is based on a beloved Shakespearean character and will be seen in live transmission from the Metropolitan Opera House on Saturday in the Vallecito Room of Fort Lewis College.
Designed by Robert Carsen, the new production comes from a collaboration between the Met and the Royal Opera House of London. It’s been almost 50 years since the Met’s period production of 1964. The British director has time traveled the Shakespearean plot from 16th-century England to the 1950s. Why?
Both eras witnessed huge socio-political change, Carsen has said in various interviews. The world of Shakespeare’s Henry IV saw the aristocracy starting to crumble with new forces emerging. So, too, England after World War II, when manor houses started turning into tourist attractions, old money and titles made way for new social dynamics. Liberated women began to make their mark in government and business.
The opera merges Shakespeare’s Henry IV plays with “The Merry Wives of Windsor,” in which the ever buoyant Falstaff plays a major role.
One of Verdi’s librettists, Arrigo Boito, who collaborated on “Otello” in 1887, persuaded the old maestro to write one more opera – in a comic, ensemble vein.
Boito suggested “Falstaff,” based on Shakespearean plays, but reduced to nine characters. Following “The Merry Wives of Windsor,” the opera would center on a down-on-his-luck aging Falstaff with one scheme left.
The new production begins in an updated version of the Garter Inn as Falstaff plots to shore up his finances. He plans to convince two wealthy married women he’s an appealing lover. Foolishly, he sends duplicate love letters to the women, and so the not-so-desperate housewives conspire to toy with him.
In Carsen’s world of 1950, Falstaff’s rooms are still a mess, but Alice Ford’s kitchen is new; it has a fridge, an oven, yellow cabinets and orange Formica countertops. It’s a perfect Betty Crocker setting to cook up a prank. But the scheme goes amiss when a jealous husband intercepts. Everything unravels, leading to embarrassment, some comic suffering and Falstaff’s lament about the wickedness of the world.
A second rendezvous adds another layer to the story with a magical twist. By the end, things sort themselves out. A nice subplot involving the younger generation serves as icing on the proverbial cake.
“Falstaff” is a super size opera, especially with the towering Italian baritone Ambrogio Maestri, six feet five inches tall, singing the lead role. Maestri has sung more than 200 performances as Falstaff, and reviews of the new Met-Royal Opera House collaboration are ebullient.
In 1892, when Verdi seemed hesitant to complete the work, his young librettist wrote to him: “After having sounded all the shrieks and groans of the human heart, to finish with a mighty burst of laughter – that is to astonish the world.”
“Falstaff” premiered at Milan’s La Scala on Feb. 9, 1893 – to bursts of laughter and shrieks of success.
jreynolds@durangoherald.com. Judith Reynolds is a Durango writer, artist and critic.
If you go
The MET: Live in HD presents Giuseppe Verdi’s “Falstaff,” at 10:55 a.m. Saturday in the Vallecito Room of the Fort Lewis College Student Union. Based on three Shakespearean plays, with a libretto by Arrigo Boito, featuring Ambrogio Maestri as Falstaff, Angela Meade as Alice Ford, and Stephanie Blythe as Mistress Quickly. in a production designed by Robert Carsen, conducted by James Levine. Tickets: $23 general, $21 seniors, students and MET members, available online at www.durangoconcerts.com, by phone at 247-7657 or at the Welcome Center at Eighth Street and Main Avenue, or at the door. Note: Surcharges may apply. Running time: 3 hours 20 minutes.
