Commedia lirica in three acts. Libretto by Arrigo Boito based on William Shakespeare’s The Merry Wives of Windsor. Music by Giuseppe Verdi. First performed on 9 February 1893 at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan. First performed at the Gran Teatre del Liceu on 18 April 1896.
Falstaff is one of Verdi's few forays into comic opera. The leading character, despite his inevitable buffo traits and his grasping, calculating hedonism, possesses a natural dignity and intelligence which make him deeply endearing. The plot recounts how two wealthy ladies from Windsor successfully set a trap to punish him for his ridiculous attempts to woo them. The ending, needless to say, is happy.
Verdi’s musical language is highly advanced and his orchestration outstanding. The moving finale, with its splendidly ironical fuga buffa, «Tutto nel mondo è burla», was the aged composer’s farewell.
Conductor
- Fabio Luisi
Stage direction
- Peter Stein
Scenography
- Lucio Fanti
Costumes
- Moidele Bickel
Lighting
- Robert Bryan
Co-production
- Welsh National Opera (Cardiff)/Opéra National de Lió
Cast
Ambrogio Maestri, Joan Pons, Fiorenza Cedolins, Ludovic Tézier, Maite Alberola, Àngel Òdena and others.
Symphony Orchestra and Chorus of the Gran Teatre del Liceu
See the DETAILED PROFILE
Antoni Bofill 
Room
- Sala Principal
Info
Now on sale the program of the opera
Act I 40 min.
Pause 30 min.
Act II 50 min.
Pause 20 min.
Act III 55 min.
TOTAL 3h 15 min.
Information session
Forty-five minutes before each performance, an information session about the opera, open to all members of the audience, will be held in the Foyer.
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