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.
Bryn Terfel
Falstaff
Roberto Frontali
Ford
Kenneth Tarver
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July 6, 2000
2h 19m
8.0
Humphrey Burton
Arrigo Boito
2
Royal Opera House
GB
BBC
GB
Fenton
Gwynne Howell
Pistol
Robin Leggate
Dr Caius
Peter Hoare
Pistol / Bardolph
Barbara Frittoli
Alice Ford
Desirée Rancatore
Nanetta
Bernadette Manca di Nissa
Mistress Quickly
Diana Montague
Meg Page
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