FALSTAFF

Description

Teatru Manoel in collaboration with Malta National Opera (MNO) presents Giuseppe Verdi’s comical opera “Falstaff”. The Italian-language libretto was adapted by Arrigo Boito from the play The Merry Wives of Windsor and scenes from Henry IV, Part 1 and Part 2, by William Shakespeare. The work premiered on 9 February 1893 at La Scala, Milan.

Falstaff was the last of Verdi’s 26 operas. It was his second comedy, and his third work based on a Shakespeare play, following Macbeth and Otello. The plot revolves around the thwarted, sometimes farcical, efforts of the fat knight Sir John Falstaff to seduce two married women to gain access to their husbands’ wealth.

Conductor Federico Tibone

Director Barbara Diana

Designer Stewart J. Charlesworth

Movement Director Megan Frances

Malta Philharmonic Orchestra

Opera Nova Chorus

Creative Team

Set in a vibrant late-1960s television studio, "Falstaff" is a fast-paced comedy brimming with ego, romance, and revenge, all under the bright studio lights. Sir John Falstaff, a once-famous knight now fading into obscurity as a lead actor in the fictional soap opera "Herne Square," creates chaos with his arrogant, egotistical behaviour, mistreating the staff around him.

In urgent need of cash to maintain his extravagant lifestyle, Falstaff devises a scandalous scheme. He sends identical flirtatious letters to two new glamorous actresses on the show, Alice Ford and Meg Page, aiming to seduce them into securing their wealth at the expense of their prosperous husbands. However, the women soon uncover his scheme. Rather than being upset, Alice and Meg decide to turn the tables on the aging star.

Meanwhile, Alice’s jealous husband, Ford, now reimagined as a powerful businessman, learns of Falstaff's plan through Bardolfo, Falstaff's manager, and Pistola, his assistant. Disguised as an American network executive, Ford confronts Falstaff and offers him money to seduce Alice but is shocked to discover that Falstaff is about to meet her for a supposed romantic encounter.

What follows is utter chaos. When Ford bursts into the dressing room, he reveals the trap, leading to a madcap situation where the women cleverly hide Falstaff in a laundry basket, which is then wheeled out and dumped into the Thames, leaving him soaked and humiliated. Vowing revenge, Falstaff is undeterred and arranges a second meeting with Alice on a moonlit set designed to resemble Windsor Forest, complete with fairy lights.

Alice and Meg, along with the entire crew, disguise themselves as mythical creatures, ambushing Falstaff and forcing him to confess his schemes and plead for forgiveness. Meanwhile, young lovers Nannetta and Fenton trick Ford into marrying them amidst the growing mayhem.

At the same time, young lovers Nannetta (Alice’s daughter and make-up artist in the show) and

Fenton — the young lead of the soap — trick Ford, who is also a registrar, into marrying them amid the chaos.

As the pranks unfold and laughter fills the studio, Falstaff finally understands his folly. He emerges transformed, embraced by those he once wronged. In a joyous ensemble finale, the cast and crew celebrate the truth of the comedy: in love, ambition, and television, much like life, everyone gets played.

The opera closes with one of Verdi’s most famous lines: "Tutto nel mondo è burla” - everything in the world is a joke!

A triumphant celebration of comedy, forgiveness, and the joy of being human.