This brilliant and amazing opera is brought to life by the great composer Giuseppe Verdi, with Calgary Opera celebrating his 200th anniversary this season. Falstaff is a hilarious and hearty adventure that is acclaimed to be one of Verdi’s greatest music achievements. It’s a masterpiece that would be Verdi’s last and only successful comedy. Verdi had become a celebrated symbol of Italian nationalism and 19th century Italian opera, though preferring to humbly view himself as a man of the countryside.
The opera opens with Sir John Falstaff, the enormous and narcissistic rascal of Windsor in the Garter Inn with his dimwitted and comedic servants, Bardolfo and Pistola. Wishing to increase his fortunes, Falstaff looks towards courting the wealthy nobles Alice Ford and Meg Page. He decides to better his luck by writing love letters to both, convinced his enormous girth and stylish charm would enchant either to be his lady. Of course, this foolish folly is quickly uncovered by the two matrons and a slew of hilarious revenge attempts and soon, Falstaff comes to realize how much trouble he is getting himself into.
Highlights of opera included: the rich dialogue translated from Italian, the amazing costume design and impressive set. Falstaff, with a “paunch” and being a “mountain of lard,” absolutely adores himself while oblivious to the insults and remarks made by the Women of Windsor. At one moment, Falstaff wears baggy brown pants and a slouching hat with feathers attached, a sight to behold while stepping out to court Alice. The women of Windsor, prim and proper, with slim fitted ballroom dresses pulls out a rather nasty bag of tricks on Falstaff for his deception, with one of the ending scenes in Falstaff with women adorned in precious and delicate light blue ballet dress, monsters and masks of the most terrifying shapes are brought out onto sticks and the backdrop is transformed into a dark and eerie forest by wonderful lighted projections of trees and rocks.
The performers blew away the audience with their strong and proud voices, their exaggerated body gestures, working along a wonderfully versatile set. The “pit” is a wonderful place to peer down into, an open space that juts under the stage and contains the wonderful musicians of the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, to add a ear pleasing delight to the evening of live music, singing and acting.
One of my favourite moments in the opera was the rendition of poor Falstaff hiding in the filthy laundry basket, gasping for air, his head bobbing up and down and then, without regard or pittance, is thrown into the muck of the ditch below. What an experience that would have been! Falstaff servants stole a bit of the spotlight, comedic characters that have brilliant comedic timing and expressions. I saw a full moon that evening.
Thanks goes to Kids Up Front, an organization dedicated to giving the opportunity to youth to engage with the vibrant culture of Calgary, to see brilliant, heart-stopping performances by amazing performers that they would not be able to otherwise.
