Falstaff - Schedule, Program & Tickets
Falstaff
Giuseppe Verdi
Following the failure Un giorno di regno, Verdi’s early attempt at operatic comedy, the composer vowed to steer clear of this genre for the rest of his life. And so he did, until, that is, at the end of his long career he wrote his last work of musical theatre: a Falstaff that was also his final attempt at musical comedy. And what a comedy it was! Not since Donizetti’s Don Pasquale 50 years earlier had there been a significant humorous Italian opera: Verdi was therefore virtually breaking new ground, enabling him to reinvent the musical comedy in the process. The result is an opera which describes Falstaff ’s amorous adventures with ambiguous humour and supreme virtuosity, finally arriving at a brilliant conclusion with the final fugue: Tutto nel mondo . burla – all the world is a joke!
The corpulent Sir John Falstaff has no money left to pay his bills at the Garter Inn where he resides. Convinced that he absolutely irresistible to the female sex, he resolves to make a virtue of necessity. He writes two identical love letters to Alice Ford and Meg Page, two prosperous citizens of Windsor, asking them to keep a tryst with him. The ladies are merely amused by the advances of the fat drunkard, and together they hatch a plan to make a fool of Falstaff. They send Mrs. Quickly as a go-between to invite Falstaff to come to Alice Ford´s house between two and three o´clock, when her jealous husband will not be at home. Falstaff immediately accepts the invitation. Soon afterwards, Ford pays him a visit, pretending to be Signor Fontana, who has fallen in love with Alice but been rejected by her. He has heard about Falstaff´s reputation as a lover, and offers to pay him to prepare the ground for his own amorous advances. Falstaff boats to him that he will embrace Alice in his arms that very day. Believing that Alice is deceiving him, Ford rushes home between two and three o´clock, when Falstaff has already arrived at the house for his rendezvous with Alice. Just in time, the women manage to hide Falstaff in a laundry basket, which is emptied into the River Thames amidst peals of laughter. Falstaff is nevertheless persuaded to keep to yet another tryst. He is instructed to come to Windsor Park that night in the guise of the black Hunstman, wearing antlers on his head. Once in the park, he is attacked by people of the town dresses as elves and goblins, who torment him terribly. But Ford´s Plan also backfires: he intends to marry his daughter Nannetta, wo loves the poor Fenton, to Dr. Caius. In the general confusion, however, the couple find one another again. Who is now the cuckold, Falstaff muses complacently. However, everyone agrees: the whole world is a jest.
Synopsis
Time: The reign of Henry IV, 1399 to 1413
Place: Windsor, England
Act 1
A room at the Garter Inn
Falstaff and his servants, Bardolfo and Pistola, are drinking at the inn. Dr Caius bursts in and accuses Falstaff of burgling his house and Bardolfo of picking his pocket. He is ejected. Falstaff hands a letter to each of his servants for delivery to Alice Ford and Meg Page, two wealthy married women. In these two identical letters, Falstaff professes his love for each of the women, although it is access to their husbands' money that he chiefly covets. Bardolfo and Pistola refuse, claiming that honour prevents them from obeying him. Falstaff dispatches his page, Robin, to deliver the letters. Falstaff delivers a tirade at his rebellious followers (L'onore! Ladri...! / "Honour! You rogues...!") telling them that honour is a mere word and is of no practical value. He chases them out of his sight.
Ford's garden
Alice and Meg have received Falstaff's letters. They compare them, see that they are identical and, together with Mistress Quickly and Nannetta Ford, resolve to punish Falstaff. Meanwhile, Ford has been warned of the letters by Bardolfo and Pistola. All three are thirsty for revenge and are supported by Dr Caius and Fenton, a young gentleman. To Ford's disapproval, Fenton is in love with Nannetta. Finding a moment to be alone, the young lovers exchange banter. They are interrupted by the return of Alice, Meg and Mistress Quickly. The act ends with an ensemble in which the women and the men separately plan revenge on Falstaff.
Act 2
A room at the Garter Inn
Falstaff is alone at the inn. Bardolfo and Pistola, now in the pay of Ford, enter and pretend to beg for forgiveness for past transgressions. They announce to their master the arrival of Mistress Quickly, who delivers an invitation to go to Alice's house that afternoon between the hours of two and three. She also delivers an answer from Meg Page and assures Falstaff that neither is aware of the other's letter. Falstaff celebrates his potential success ("Va, vecchio John" / "Go, old Jack, go your own way"). Ford arrives, masquerading as "Signor Fontana", supposedly an admirer of Alice; he offers money to the fat knight to seduce her. Falstaff is puzzled at the request, and "Fontana" explains that if Alice succumbs to Falstaff, it will then be easier for Fontana to overcome her virtuous scruples. Falstaff agrees with pleasure and reveals that he already has a rendezvous arranged with Alice for two o'clock – the hour when Ford is always absent from home. Falstaff goes off to change into his best clothes; Ford is consumed with jealousy (È sogno o realtà? / "Is it a dream or reality?"). When Falstaff returns in his finery, they leave together with elaborate displays of mutual courtesy.
[engraving of scene from Falstaff with the lovers behind a screen and Falstaff hidden in the laundry basket]
Engraving by Ettore Tito of act 2, scene 2, from the original production. Ford and the servants creep towards Fenton and Nannetta, who they think are Falstaff and Alice, behind the screen, while the women stifle Falstaff in the laundry basket.
A room in Ford's house
The three women plot their strategy ("Gaie Comari di Windsor" / "Merry wives of Windsor, the time has come!"). They are in high spirits, but Alice notices that Nannetta is not. This is because Ford plans to marry her to Dr Caius, a man old enough to be her grandfather; the women reassure her that they will prevent it. Mistress Quickly announces Falstaff's arrival, and Mistress Ford has a large laundry basket and a screen placed in readiness. Falstaff's attempts to seduce Alice with tales of his past glory ("Quand'ero paggio del Duca di Norfolk" / "When I was page to the Duke of Norfolk I was slender") are cut short, as Mistress Quickly reports the impending arrival of Ford with a retinue of henchmen to catch his wife's lover. Falstaff hides first behind the screen, and then the women hide him in the laundry basket. In the meantime Fenton and Nannetta hide behind the screen. The men hear the sound of a kiss behind it. They assume it is Falstaff with Alice, but instead they find the young lovers. Ford orders Fenton to leave. Inside the hamper Falstaff is almost suffocating. While the men resume the search of the house Alice orders her servants to throw the laundry basket through the window into the River Thames, where Falstaff endures the jeers of the crowd.
Act 3
Before the inn
Falstaff glumly curses the sorry state of the world. Some mulled wine soon improves his mood. Mistress Quickly arrives and delivers another invitation to meet Alice. Falstaff at first wants nothing to do with it, but she persuades him. He is to meet Alice at midnight at Herne's Oak in Windsor Great Park dressed up as Herne the Hunter. He and Mistress Quickly go inside the inn. Ford has realised his error in suspecting his wife, and they and their allies have been watching secretly. They now concoct a plan for Falstaff's punishment: dressed as supernatural creatures, they will ambush and torment him at midnight. Ford privately proposes a separate plot to Caius: Nannetta will be disguised as Queen of the Fairies, Caius will wear a monk's costume, and Ford will join the two of them with a nuptial blessing. Mistress Quickly overhears and quietly vows to thwart Ford's scheme.
Herne's Oak in Windsor Park on a moonlit midnight
Fenton arrives at the oak tree and sings of his happiness ("Dal labbro il canto estasiato vola" / "From my lips, a song of ecstasy flies") ending with "Lips that are kissed lose none of their allure." Nannetta enters to finish the line with "Indeed, they renew it, like the moon." The women arrive and disguise Fenton as a monk, telling him that they have arranged to spoil Ford's and Caius's plans. Nannetta, as the Fairy Queen, instructs her helpers ("Sul fil d'un soffio etesio" / "On the breath of a fragrant breeze, fly, nimble spirits") before all the characters arrive on the scene. Falstaff's attempted love scene with Alice is interrupted by the announcement that witches are approaching, and the men, disguised as elves and fairies, soundly thrash Falstaff. At length he recognises Bardolfo in disguise. The joke is over, and Falstaff acknowledges that he has received his due. Ford announces that a wedding shall ensue. Caius and the Queen of the Fairies enter. A second couple, also in masquerade, ask Ford to deliver the same blessing for them as well. Ford conducts the double ceremony. Caius finds that instead of Nannetta, his bride is the disguised Bardolfo, and Ford has unwittingly blessed the marriage of Fenton and Nannetta. Ford accepts the fait accompli with good grace. Falstaff, pleased to find himself not the only dupe, proclaims in a fugue, which the entire company sings, that all the world is folly, and all are figures of fun (Tutto nel mondo è burla... Tutti gabbati! / "Everything in the world is a jest...").
Following the failure Un giorno di regno, Verdi’s early attempt at operatic comedy, the composer vowed to steer clear of this genre for the rest of his life. And so he did, until, that is, at the end of his long career he wrote his last work of musical theatre: a Falstaff that was also his final attempt at musical comedy. And what a comedy it was! Not since Donizetti’s Don Pasquale 50 years earlier had there been a significant humorous Italian opera: Verdi was therefore virtually breaking new ground, enabling him to reinvent the musical comedy in the process. The result is an opera which describes Falstaff ’s amorous adventures with ambiguous humour and supreme virtuosity, finally arriving at a brilliant conclusion with the final fugue: Tutto nel mondo . burla – all the world is a joke!
The corpulent Sir John Falstaff has no money left to pay his bills at the Garter Inn where he resides. Convinced that he absolutely irresistible to the female sex, he resolves to make a virtue of necessity. He writes two identical love letters to Alice Ford and Meg Page, two prosperous citizens of Windsor, asking them to keep a tryst with him. The ladies are merely amused by the advances of the fat drunkard, and together they hatch a plan to make a fool of Falstaff. They send Mrs. Quickly as a go-between to invite Falstaff to come to Alice Ford´s house between two and three o´clock, when her jealous husband will not be at home. Falstaff immediately accepts the invitation. Soon afterwards, Ford pays him a visit, pretending to be Signor Fontana, who has fallen in love with Alice but been rejected by her. He has heard about Falstaff´s reputation as a lover, and offers to pay him to prepare the ground for his own amorous advances. Falstaff boats to him that he will embrace Alice in his arms that very day. Believing that Alice is deceiving him, Ford rushes home between two and three o´clock, when Falstaff has already arrived at the house for his rendezvous with Alice. Just in time, the women manage to hide Falstaff in a laundry basket, which is emptied into the River Thames amidst peals of laughter. Falstaff is nevertheless persuaded to keep to yet another tryst. He is instructed to come to Windsor Park that night in the guise of the black Hunstman, wearing antlers on his head. Once in the park, he is attacked by people of the town dresses as elves and goblins, who torment him terribly. But Ford´s Plan also backfires: he intends to marry his daughter Nannetta, wo loves the poor Fenton, to Dr. Caius. In the general confusion, however, the couple find one another again. Who is now the cuckold, Falstaff muses complacently. However, everyone agrees: the whole world is a jest.
Synopsis
Time: The reign of Henry IV, 1399 to 1413
Place: Windsor, England
Act 1
A room at the Garter Inn
Falstaff and his servants, Bardolfo and Pistola, are drinking at the inn. Dr Caius bursts in and accuses Falstaff of burgling his house and Bardolfo of picking his pocket. He is ejected. Falstaff hands a letter to each of his servants for delivery to Alice Ford and Meg Page, two wealthy married women. In these two identical letters, Falstaff professes his love for each of the women, although it is access to their husbands' money that he chiefly covets. Bardolfo and Pistola refuse, claiming that honour prevents them from obeying him. Falstaff dispatches his page, Robin, to deliver the letters. Falstaff delivers a tirade at his rebellious followers (L'onore! Ladri...! / "Honour! You rogues...!") telling them that honour is a mere word and is of no practical value. He chases them out of his sight.
Ford's garden
Alice and Meg have received Falstaff's letters. They compare them, see that they are identical and, together with Mistress Quickly and Nannetta Ford, resolve to punish Falstaff. Meanwhile, Ford has been warned of the letters by Bardolfo and Pistola. All three are thirsty for revenge and are supported by Dr Caius and Fenton, a young gentleman. To Ford's disapproval, Fenton is in love with Nannetta. Finding a moment to be alone, the young lovers exchange banter. They are interrupted by the return of Alice, Meg and Mistress Quickly. The act ends with an ensemble in which the women and the men separately plan revenge on Falstaff.
Act 2
A room at the Garter Inn
Falstaff is alone at the inn. Bardolfo and Pistola, now in the pay of Ford, enter and pretend to beg for forgiveness for past transgressions. They announce to their master the arrival of Mistress Quickly, who delivers an invitation to go to Alice's house that afternoon between the hours of two and three. She also delivers an answer from Meg Page and assures Falstaff that neither is aware of the other's letter. Falstaff celebrates his potential success ("Va, vecchio John" / "Go, old Jack, go your own way"). Ford arrives, masquerading as "Signor Fontana", supposedly an admirer of Alice; he offers money to the fat knight to seduce her. Falstaff is puzzled at the request, and "Fontana" explains that if Alice succumbs to Falstaff, it will then be easier for Fontana to overcome her virtuous scruples. Falstaff agrees with pleasure and reveals that he already has a rendezvous arranged with Alice for two o'clock – the hour when Ford is always absent from home. Falstaff goes off to change into his best clothes; Ford is consumed with jealousy (È sogno o realtà? / "Is it a dream or reality?"). When Falstaff returns in his finery, they leave together with elaborate displays of mutual courtesy.
[engraving of scene from Falstaff with the lovers behind a screen and Falstaff hidden in the laundry basket]
Engraving by Ettore Tito of act 2, scene 2, from the original production. Ford and the servants creep towards Fenton and Nannetta, who they think are Falstaff and Alice, behind the screen, while the women stifle Falstaff in the laundry basket.
A room in Ford's house
The three women plot their strategy ("Gaie Comari di Windsor" / "Merry wives of Windsor, the time has come!"). They are in high spirits, but Alice notices that Nannetta is not. This is because Ford plans to marry her to Dr Caius, a man old enough to be her grandfather; the women reassure her that they will prevent it. Mistress Quickly announces Falstaff's arrival, and Mistress Ford has a large laundry basket and a screen placed in readiness. Falstaff's attempts to seduce Alice with tales of his past glory ("Quand'ero paggio del Duca di Norfolk" / "When I was page to the Duke of Norfolk I was slender") are cut short, as Mistress Quickly reports the impending arrival of Ford with a retinue of henchmen to catch his wife's lover. Falstaff hides first behind the screen, and then the women hide him in the laundry basket. In the meantime Fenton and Nannetta hide behind the screen. The men hear the sound of a kiss behind it. They assume it is Falstaff with Alice, but instead they find the young lovers. Ford orders Fenton to leave. Inside the hamper Falstaff is almost suffocating. While the men resume the search of the house Alice orders her servants to throw the laundry basket through the window into the River Thames, where Falstaff endures the jeers of the crowd.
Act 3
Before the inn
Falstaff glumly curses the sorry state of the world. Some mulled wine soon improves his mood. Mistress Quickly arrives and delivers another invitation to meet Alice. Falstaff at first wants nothing to do with it, but she persuades him. He is to meet Alice at midnight at Herne's Oak in Windsor Great Park dressed up as Herne the Hunter. He and Mistress Quickly go inside the inn. Ford has realised his error in suspecting his wife, and they and their allies have been watching secretly. They now concoct a plan for Falstaff's punishment: dressed as supernatural creatures, they will ambush and torment him at midnight. Ford privately proposes a separate plot to Caius: Nannetta will be disguised as Queen of the Fairies, Caius will wear a monk's costume, and Ford will join the two of them with a nuptial blessing. Mistress Quickly overhears and quietly vows to thwart Ford's scheme.
Herne's Oak in Windsor Park on a moonlit midnight
Fenton arrives at the oak tree and sings of his happiness ("Dal labbro il canto estasiato vola" / "From my lips, a song of ecstasy flies") ending with "Lips that are kissed lose none of their allure." Nannetta enters to finish the line with "Indeed, they renew it, like the moon." The women arrive and disguise Fenton as a monk, telling him that they have arranged to spoil Ford's and Caius's plans. Nannetta, as the Fairy Queen, instructs her helpers ("Sul fil d'un soffio etesio" / "On the breath of a fragrant breeze, fly, nimble spirits") before all the characters arrive on the scene. Falstaff's attempted love scene with Alice is interrupted by the announcement that witches are approaching, and the men, disguised as elves and fairies, soundly thrash Falstaff. At length he recognises Bardolfo in disguise. The joke is over, and Falstaff acknowledges that he has received his due. Ford announces that a wedding shall ensue. Caius and the Queen of the Fairies enter. A second couple, also in masquerade, ask Ford to deliver the same blessing for them as well. Ford conducts the double ceremony. Caius finds that instead of Nannetta, his bride is the disguised Bardolfo, and Ford has unwittingly blessed the marriage of Fenton and Nannetta. Ford accepts the fait accompli with good grace. Falstaff, pleased to find himself not the only dupe, proclaims in a fugue, which the entire company sings, that all the world is folly, and all are figures of fun (Tutto nel mondo è burla... Tutti gabbati! / "Everything in the world is a jest...").
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