Falstaff

Falstaff

8
2000-07-06 | 139 min
ComedyMusic

The Graham Vicks production of FALSTAFF opened the new Covent Garden Royal Opera House, and was not to everybody's taste; the garish primary colours of the costumes. The staging is effective--the complicated counterpoint of the ensembles is reflected in unobtrusive blocking that keeps the vocal lines clear and separate, especially in the final fugue. Bryn Terfel's Falstaff is a memorable creation, self-mocking and self-aggrandising at the same time--so much so, in fact, that he almost does not need the vast prosthetic body he has to wear for the part. Desiree Rancatore is an admirably sweet-toned Nanetta; Bernadette Manca di Nissa an appropriately sardonic Mistress Quickly; Roberto Frontali as Ford, in his Act 2 scena, perfectly distils and parodies every jealousy aria ever written, including Verdi's own. Haitink's conducting is exemplary in the lyrical passages, gets almost everything out of the fast and furious comic sections.

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Cast

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Bryn Terfel

Falstaff

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Roberto Frontali

Ford

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Kenneth Tarver

Fenton

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Gwynne Howell

Pistol

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Robin Leggate

Dr Caius

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Peter Hoare

Pistol / Bardolph

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Barbara Frittoli

Alice Ford

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Desirée Rancatore

Nanetta

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Bernadette Manca di Nissa

Mistress Quickly

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Diana Montague

Meg Page

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