Fenice Falstaff Follies

Alaimo stars, Chung conducts, Noble directs

Nicola Alaimo (centre, Falstaff), Francesco Milanese (Pistola), Cristiano Oliviero (Bardolfo) Falstaff immenso! Enorme Falstaff

A new Falstaff by one of the most distinguished of British Shakespearean directors at one of Italy’s top opera houses had “unmissable” spelled out in neon lights before the opening at Venice’s Gran Teatro La Fenice on November 18. Although Falstaff was written for an even grander theatre, La Scala Milan, which hosted the prima assoluta, Verdi’s final work for the stage reached the Fenice in the very same year, 1893, with the composer’s chosen protagonist, Victor Maurel in the starring role. Since then Venice has seen 13 series of performances - between 1934 and 1997 many legendary Falstaffs, Mariano Stabile, Tito Gobbi, Rolando Panerai, among them took the title role here - the most recent production by former director of the Royal Shakespeare Company, Adrian Noble.

A surprising lapse of more than 18 years separates this new work from Noble’s most recent opera project in the UK, a painterly, semi-abstract Zauberflöte at Glyndebourne. More recently, he has worked at the Met (Bizet’s Carmen) and the Bolshoi (Otello) but this Italian debut is a slightly surprising late-career venture (he is 72). Possibly, the Fenice management thought Noble might bring the insights of Shakespearean maturity to Verdi’s comedy, although in-depth knowledge of one the Bard’s minor plays is hardly preparation for tackling Verdi’s quintessentially Italian late masterpiece, a far greater work than its source, The Merry Wives of Windsor.