Falstaff: By Verdi

Note to self: When thinking of a storyline plot to write an opera about, look to Shakespeare. That man had brilliance in his brain! Falstaff is a comedic opera. Which in my book is always a good thing. I love the funny ones. Mostly because they tend to frolic through the story without getting too bogged down by anything too serious. I don't mind the serious ones (if I did I probably wouldn't like opera all that much) but I vastly prefer the ones with at least a glimmer of humor. Anyway, got to see Falstaff this weekend and it was really good. Since the Seattle Opera has been going with a Verdi-centric season it has been fun to compare the different operas. I decided to take some notes on my program as the opera was going to help me with the blog. Often I forget things once I leave the theater. It is late, I am tired. These things happen. Anyway, my notes should help me remember.

Pros: Falstaff is fast paced. The music never stays too long on any one note which tends to send the opera zooming along. There is a dirty old man in this opera who is the butt of many jokes. It was interesting to see the combination of physical humor and word plays. Kinda kept you guessing where the next laugh was coming from. Dame Quickly was played by the wonderful and always brilliant Stephanie Blythe. I always enjoy repeat performers. I have seen Ms. Blythe in several other performances and she is truly a joy to listen to. The role of Falstaff was performed by Eduardo Chama and he was very good. His voice had a wonderful tone that seemed almost too good for a part that was consistently being laughed at. Favorite line of the night was "only an ass would trust his wife, or his beer to a German or a his food to a Dutchmen or his spirits to a Turk" Good stuff. Also, there was a fabulous use of Pop-Its. Good to know they are useful for more than the 4th of July.

Cons: Visually I found this opera quite boring. At the beginning of the show there seemed to be a large set but as we got close to the show starting a screen came across the back of the set. The screen only changed color, presumably with the mood of the song, and added nothing too the set. Also, one "trick" staging scene was ruined by a lack of flashing at the bottom of a false walkway. It would have been an easy fix to add flashing to the bottom of the set and it would have preserved the humor of the joke. Since I could see the character crawling along the back of the set it really dimmed my enjoyment of the gag. In addition to the lackluster set was a strange "tree" made of chairs (it was weird, modern art based and seemingly completely out of place with the period piece costuming). Also, while in general a fast paced comedic opera is my favorite I lost many of the jokes while trying either to read the words or focus on the characters. Often the words were amusing and I was watching the movement or I would be focusing on the words and the characters would be gesturing in an amusing way. It became frustrating to hear people laugh and know that I had missed one or the other. The other interesting thing that was somewhat off putting is the occasional disregard of the 4th wall. It was difficult to get used to and somewhat strange. The characters did not leave the set (mostly) in between numbers they would sit on the sidelines and watch. It almost gave the impression that they knew it was a play and that we were there the entire time. Strange. It became hard to immerse the mind in a world where even the characters are not taking themselves seriously.

Must See Rating: ****