Falstaff premiered on February 9, 1893, and critics from across Europe praised Verdi for successfully writing an opera buffa 53 years after the failure of his earlier work, Un giorno di regno.
Composition History
Verdi's Falstaff is a 'commedia lirica' (lyric comedy) in three acts, with a libretto by Arrigo Boito, based on William Shakespeare's play The Merry Wives of Windsor.
Compositional Technique
Falstaff is considered a postmodern work that reduces traditional operatic forms like arias, duets, and recitatives to brief, fragmented set pieces, evoking a sense of wistful nostalgia.
Compositional Technique
Falstaff contains numerous allusions to Verdi's own works, such as La traviata, Aida, and the Requiem, as well as to Wagner's Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg and Parsifal.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Verdi and his librettist Arrigo Boito, in Falstaff, enjoyed exposing all human weaknesses, from vanity to sadistic whims, and from authoritarianism to flirtatious young lovers.
Recording & Production
This recording of Falstaff was captured live at the Teatro Farnese di Parma on multiple dates in October 2011, with Andrea Battistoni conducting the Orchestra e Coro del Teatro Regio di Parma.
