| Date and venue | Title |
|---|---|
| 15-Feb-2013 Sydney Opera House: Opera Theatre | A belly-full of laughs at Opera Australia's production of Verdi's Falstaff |
 Tragedy seems to age better than comedy. The works of Aeschylus have been more influential than those of Aristophanes, and Shakespeare’s darker plays are far more popular than his pure comedies. This same propensity for gloomy subjects can also be seen in the opera world. With notable exceptions in the cases of Mozart and Rossini, the composers whose works are most frequently performed today tend to be better known for their tragedies than their lighter works: think of Puccini, Wagner, Bizet.Read full review... | |
| 24-Jul-2012 Holland Park Theatre | Verdi's Falstaff at Opera Holland Park |
 With Verdi's centenary coming up, his last opera Falstaff has had more attention than usual, with this production at Opera Holland Park following hot on the heels of Robert Carsen's new production at Covent Garden. I don't know whether OHP's director Annilese Miskimmon was aware of Carsen's production, but she certainly ended up with a similar aesthetic, set in twentieth century England with pastel-clad posh housewives and much brown clothing for the men.Read full review... | |
| 19-May-2012 Royal Opera House, Covent Garden | Robert Carsen's new Falstaff at Covent Garden |
 In the end, the big man gets the last laugh. Come to think of it, he also gets the first laugh, but for different reasons: you sense that Verdi steadily grew to love Falstaff in the course of writing the opera, as he turns from a coarse buffoon into a maligned old man and, eventually, into the spirit of laughter itself. Last night at Covent Garden, Italian Baritone Ambrogio Maestri was the perfect embodiment of the role: Maestri makes you feel that he loves Falstaff every bit as much as Verdi; a big man singing a larger than life role.Read full review... | |
