Falstaff

Singing in Body-mic Mode
This was staged at the Teatro Farnese in Parma in October 2011, an unusual baroque arena. It's a gorgeous venue but the acoustic is problematic. This was the first and only time a Verdi opera was staged there. Body mics were used and the first impression you get is of the flat sound, with no ambiance. The sets were designed to help the singers - there are huge wood panels at the back of the stage; Falstaff's huge bed has an even huger headboard, again, to help reflect the sound. Fenton and Nanetta sing their duet from the most sound reflecting corners on stage. But the miking strips the sound of any sense of location and you can't hear any effect of the sets on the singers' projection. Any off-stage sounds (the women in the end of act III part one, and the "molto lontano" horn that follows) come from the same "no place" because the miking cannot locate the sound on or off stage.

The next impression is Ambrogio Maestri's Falstaff. It seems that God created this singer to...

Not much fun....
Ugh, isn't Falstaff supposed to be a comedy? Well sung, well conducted, and well played, but the director's take here is so dark so as to be unwatchable for me. Falstaff is portrayed as a sinister, disengaged, narcissistic, boorish, slovenly, borderline sexual predator. The Merry Wives dressed all in black just come off as harsh and mean spirited. The sets are dark and depressing and sort of cheap looking. The fake Falstaff dumped in the river was pretty cheesy. Not much nuance or true humanity here, just another overbearing director's concept taken too far. Maybe he thought he was directing Rigoletto, but I think he got the `color' of this opera wrong. Give the performers 5 stars but thumbs down on the concept here. I watched it a few times to give it a chance. But liked it less and less on each viewing.

This is one of my favorite operas and there are many better versions in my opinion that are actually fun to watch. The Met production (Levine, Plishka, Freni),...



Click to Editorial Reviews