Falstaff

Sir John Falstaff is an elderly gentleman with no money in his pocket but with very high thoughts about himself and his opportunities to charm his way in on the opposite sex. To improve his financial situation, he tries to seduce two wealthy, married wives in Windsor at the same time. But the women muddle along, giving the bloated knight a lesson that can be felt.

Shakespeare's play The Merry Wives of Windsor is an exuberantly inventive comedy, and Verdi captures both the tone, wit and humour of his last, great masterpiece. In his opera, he paints a loving musical portrait of the highly self-effacing Falstaff and the wise women, who are not so fooled by his double act.

Peter Langdal's cheerful staging from 2013 fires up under both colours and spas, so it's set up for an entertaining evening at the Opera. Musically, a party fireworks display awaits too, with Danish world baritone Johan Reuter in the title role of Falstaff as well as Gisela Stille, Clara Cecilie Thomsen, Hanne Fischer and Kari Dahl Nielsen as the lusty and cunning wives of Windsor, and Gihoon Kim, who received the honorary BBC Cardiff Singer of the World 2021 award, playing the role of Mr. Ford.

Falstaff is sung in Italian with Danish and English subtitles.

Recommended from 8 years