Triumphant Return of Levine Conducting Verdi’s “Falstaff” in Live-at-the-Met-in-HD

After a hiatus of two years for health reasons, Met Maestro-Extraordinaire, James Levine, was greeted with overwhelming enthusiasm even BEFORE he ever raised his baton for Giuseppe Verdi’s Falstaff.

Would that I could applaud his choice of Falstaff, for this triumph, even as I enjoyed this often delicious romp of a production. Undoubtedly  Maestro Levine knows far more about this opera’s musically finer points, which he praised most ardently during an intermission feature with the Met’s Peter Gelb and Robert Carsen, the producer of this smart production.

But I cannot fathom Levine’s placing Falstaff as the apex of all comic operas, ahead of works like The Marriage of Figaro and Meistersinger. That categorizes it as a super-important opera.

I dare state my opposing position, and I am not alone in this. Henry W. Simon, the revered author of “Festival of Operas,” wrote:" Verdi’s Falstaff is, as everyone knows, based on Shakespeare’s The Merry Wives of Windsor. It is thus a great opera based on the work of a great dramatist who happened, for once, to write a pretty poor play.” 

Often a lesser libretto is rescued by a superb score. Frankly, although I fully appreciate Verdi’s, un-Verdi-like innovations, I don’t think it does the trick here. I have never really admired this last, of  his most often, extraordinary 28 operas. I do absolutely adore late Verdi works – specifically Otello — a fabulous achievement, even surpassing the somewhat earlier Don Carlos. What a pity that Arrigo Boito, the librettist (and important composer himself,) chose to persuade Verdi to tackle this lesser comedic play of the usually stupendous Bard, as his last gift to us.

Especially since Verdi’s only other attempt at comedy, Un Giorno di Regno, bombed out miserably at its La Scala premiere a half a Century earlier.

Just imagine how the world might be enriched, had Verdi decided to compose “Hamlet” instead! Ophelia’s chants might rival Desdemona’s “Willow Song.” We can all cast such an opera with our favorite singers.

(There have been several, long-forgotten attempts at operatic Hamlets. One by Ambroise Thomas, that premiered in 1868, even creeps into some repertories every now and then. But Thomas was no Verdi…)

But let us return to reality. Most critics lauded Falstaff at its 1893 premiere at Milan’s La Scala, and it has received much praise ever since, always accompanied with astonishment that it was created between the 77th and 80th year of Verdi’s (1813-1901) life.

One wonders at that surprise. Many great artists’ important creations were achieved late in their lives. Michelangelo, Titian, Monet, Goethe, Tolstoy, Frost and Picasso come to mind, among many others.

Falstaff is an “ensemble work,” with only one real aria but several short sorties that tease us into wanting more. It does not contain melodies that immediately fall into the ear, as is the case with so many Verdi works. But I have to admit this particular version, cleverly directed by Robert Carson, a combo production with Covent Garden, the Met and several others, definitely pleases its audiences. Our’s up here, somewhat sparse because of the snow at matinee time, applauded lustily at the innovative, truly smashing fugue ending.

It especially approved the born-for-the-part performance by Italy’s Ambrogio Maestri, who indeed has been Falstaff 202 times! The baritone is 6 foot 5, portly, gifted with comedic talent and a mellifluous voice. At this Met matinee he certainly did not disappoint! He heads a wonderful cast, in this production that transposes the setting from the world of HenryV, who ruled from 1413 to 1422, to postwar 1950’s London. And it works remarkably well.

The production is aided by NewYork’s own Paul Steinberg’s busy sets, (mostly with an overly-abundant display of food,) and the definitely on-target 50’s costumes by Germany’s Brigitte Reiffenstuel.

The story-line of the pathetically self-indulgent Falstaff, who is bested by a slew of jester-type London wives, but comes through philosophically at the end, is far too convoluted to report here. Boito culled the sparkiest of the Bard’s creation that the sub-titles  so conveniently convey.

The opera makes unbelievable demands from the ensemble, that has to mesh perfectly, consistently throughout the work. Here it managed to do it superbly. The parts were peppered with some of the most desirable voices of our time: Stephanie  Blythe, Angela Meade, Lisette Oropesa, Jennifer Johnson Cano, Franco Vassallo, Carlo Bosi, Paolo Fanale, just to name few. And they all seemed to be having a wonderful time, which became evident during the interviews with Renee Fleming who was the host for the day.

Intermissions again showed us the intricacies a Met production entails. This time it not only involved the massive sets that have to be assembled and disassembled in mere minutes, but a profusion of food, real food.

We’ve lately been offered some bare-boned productions. This was the opposite and I believe contributed hugely to the audience’s obvious enjoyment. Maybe it even inadvertently inspired some to  stop at the Center Theater’s Concession stands on their way out!

Incidentally in 2001 a made-for-TV DVD was released that stars Maestri and the fabulous Juan Diego Florez. Checking Netflix, I found it, with no less than 9 other Falstaffs. I sent for it and suggest that opera lovers should certainly appreciate Netflix for its loyalty to the form!

Catch the encore of Falstaff on Wednesday, Dec. 18th at 6:30 PM, at WP Center City Cinema 15 and  NewRok’s  18.

Here are reactions to the opera from some of  your  neighbors:

Naomi Lipman of Scarsdale mentioned that Maestri seemed like a cross between Zero Mostel and Baron Ochs. “This production was all about food, inglorious food!  Even a horse, that shared a scene with Falstaff, was contently munching on a basket of straw. But I must admit, as delightful as this production is, Falstaff is my least favorite Verdi opera and Merry Wives one of my least favorite of Shakespeare’s plays.”

Avra Mark of Tuckahoe considered the opera “great fun. The singing was marvelous. Maestri really owns the part,” she said. “It  was a joy to watch and is prompting me, after many years, to re-read the play.”

Malcolm Gordon and his wife Nan Miller braved the snowy trip from Norwalk to attend. They really take opera seriously. Before attending, they pick up a CD of the opera from the library and first use it as back-ground music. But before the HD performance they sit down and listen to it with synopsis in hand. All this is to familiarize themselves fully. They feel this will enable them to experience the opera completely. Mr. Gordon thought Maestri was superb. “He should have been named Falstaff at birth,”  he said. Both he and his wife were surprised at their accepting the 1950’s setting as “kind of exciting.”