How long is verdi falstaff

Finally, designer Giselle Lee has ensured both effects and balance of sound support the beautiful music of singers and orchestra as well as enhance the frolicking story. As a long-time subscriber to San Francisco opera, I can attest it is absolutely a joy to attend a production by such a stellar company as West Bay Opera where the vastly more intimate setting of the Lucie Stern Center allows me to see clearly facial expressions without binoculars.

To enjoy close-up the acting as well as the singing is an opportunity that all opera faithful should avail themselves. And for the die-hard musical-theatre buff who avoids operas, I can think of no better time to jump in and become opera-hooked than the Verdi opera that at the end of the nineteenth century clearly set the path for future musical comedies on Broadway and the West End.

The conditions would be enough to drive Verdi himself to drink right alongside them. So with brass and timpani stacked one atop the other in the wings with elaborate closed-circuit TV from the podium and stunning high-tech video projections for scenery, somehow it works. At least, as long as the old fat knight Falstaff exhales mightily whenever squeezing off into the wings—as precarious a maneuver as, say, docking some trans-Atlantic dirigible just landed into your garage.

Casting and handling a well-balanced pro cast of 10 plus chorus is no mean feat. Impressive in the female lead was soprano Taylor Haines Alice Ford , a tall woman with stage presence who could project well, even in a larger hall.

And as the husband Ford around whom Falstaff maneuvers, we had the resonant baritone Krassen Karagiosov, best in his act-two aria of high agitation.

The show must go on! Credit to the orchestra, pulling it together even though stationed nearly off in the parking lot. But, just for his private enjoyment of Shakespeare, he wrote the Falstaff manuscript, never expecting it to be produced. Or so he claimed. But this latest and perhaps greatest of his many works came off his shelf and was premiered in , the same year he turned And just for a little challenge, he wrote an awe-inspiring fugue to be sung by the 10 soloists at the final curtain, requiring a diction as exacting as a Gilbert and Sullivan patter song.

For WBO info: or go online. The old theater saw is true: tragedy is easy, comedy is hard. Falstaff simultaneously woos two wealthy ladies Meg and Alice. Multiple schemes of vengeance lead to chaos, but Falstaff accepts his just deserts with good humor. Such a farce demands impeccable timing, tight musical coordination, strong directorial vision, and balanced acting. Badly photoshopped projected backdrops with distracting animation reinforce this.

The production keeps screaming that this is comedy — and that kills its comedic impact. Scenes feel freshest when the singers stop overacting: In Act I, for instance, Meg, Alice, Nannetta, and Mistress Quickly plot their revenge with delicious, unaffected relish.

Dramatic, dark-hued strings set the midnight mood for the final scene perfectly far better than the projected mist swirling on the backdrop.

As usual, West Bay Opera served up a cast of singers worth hearing. Michael Orlinsky and Kiril Havezov were in fine voice as his graceless servants, Bardolfo and Pistola. Baritone Krassen Karagiozov stole scenes as Ford, with his dusky sound, smooth legato, and jealous rages. Dragging down the overall professionalism of the production was a lack of attention to detail. The placement of the brass section onstage made their entrances startle and their long lines compete with the singers.

Falstaff is an ambitious programming choice for any opera company. It has all the musical challenges of Verdi without the name recognition to bring in audiences.

But that plot can seem frivolous if the characters treat it all as a game, without emotional stakes. I laud their ambition and the musical talent they have brought together. Giuseppe Verdi. Libretto by Arrigo Boito. Friday, May 24 - 8 p. Sunday, May 26 - 2 p.

Saturday, June 1 - 8 p. Sunday, June 2 - 2 p. Thursday, May 16, - p. Palo Alto Art Center. About Falstaff. Creative team. Pictured: costume designs by Abra Berman. Sir John Falstaff - Richard Zeller. Photo: Otak Jump. L - R: Pistola K. Havezov and Falstaff R. Zeller a the Garter Inn. Falstaff R. Act 1. Fenton D. In accordance with the original plan, Falstaff is hidden in the laundry basket. Ford searches the house with Cajus, Bardolfo, and Pistola, but finds nothing, until he hears something suspicious behind a folding screen.

But instead of Falstaff and Alice, he finds his daughter and Fenton kissing one another. Alice carries out the last part of her plan with Falstaff and has the laundry with its heavy load emptied into the nearby river. She invites him to another, midnight rendezvous outside. Falstaff agrees. In the meantime, the Fords, now reconciled with one another, conjure up the following plan: at the planned meeting point, costumed mythical creatures should give Falstaff a good scare.

The women plan accordingly. Ford tells Cajus that he should take advantage of the confusion, abduct Nannetta and marry her. But Mrs Quickly overhears this conversation. Falstaff approaches the meeting point. Again, he is only given just a brief moment with Alice before the masquerade begins.

All sorts of dark figures descend upon him and want to force him to forgive. Finally, Falstaff recognizes Bardolfo in the mob and so sees through the show. Ford triumphs over Falstaff and wants to crown the masquerade by presenting the freshly married couple. But Cajus is forced to realize that Bardolfo is concealed beneath the veil. Elisir d'amore Gaetano Donizetti. Eugene Onegin Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Fidelio Ludwig van Beethoven.

Gianni Schicchi Giacomo Puccini. Giulio Cesare in Egitto G. Gloria von Jaxtberg HK Gruber. Guillaume Tell Gioachino Rossini. I puritani Vincenzo Bellini. Idomeneo Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Il barbiere di Siviglia Gioachino Rossini. Il Pirata Vicenzo Bellini. Il Tabarro Giacomo Puccini. Il Trovatore Giuseppe Verdi. Il turco in Italia Gioachino Rossini. In the Penal Colony Philip Glass. Into the Little Hill George Benjamin. Iolanta Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.

L'amour de loin Kaija Saariaho. L'heure espagnole Maurice Ravel. L'incoronazione di Poppea Claudio Monteverdi. La Calisto Francesco Cavalli. La Cenerentola Gioachino Rossini. La clemenza di Tito Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. La damnation de Faust Hector Berlioz.

La donna del lago Gioachino Rossini. La fanciulla del West Giacomo Puccini. La Traviata Giuseppe Verdi. Le Comte Ory Gioachino Rossini. Les contes d'Hoffmann Jacques Offenbach. Linda di Chamounix Gaetano Donizetti. Lost Highway Olga Neuwirth. Lucia di Lammermoor Gaetano Donizetti. Lucrezia Borgia Gaetano Donizetti.