Falstaff (Salieri)

"Falstaff, ossia Le tre burle" ("Falstaff, or The Three Jokes") is a "dramma giocoso" in two acts by Antonio Salieri, set to a libretto by Carlo Prospero Defranceschi after William Shakespeare's The Merry Wives of Windsor.

One of the earliest operatic versions of Shakespeare's play, Salieri's Falstaff is notable for the absence of the two young lovers, Fenton and Anne, and the addition of a scene in which Mistress Ford pretends to be German to charm Falstaff. Beethoven used the duet "La stessa, La stessissima" for a series of variations.Rice, John A.: "Falstaff" in 'The New Grove Dictionary of Opera', ed. Stanley Sadie (London, 1992) ISBN 0-333-73432-7]

The architecture of the piece is designed to keep the action flowing, utilising dozens of arias bridged by brisque recitative, leading towards grand finales and keeping the pace from flagging during the opera's three-hour span.Rough Guide to Opera, 4th ed., Boyden. ISBN 978-1-84353-538-6] Highlights include the military overture, Fallstaff's strutting Act I aria, the technically brilliant "laughter" trio in Act II and the ensemble finale to Act III.

Performance history

It was first performed at the Kärntnertortheater in Vienna on the 3 January 1799. Twenty-six performances were given between then and 1802.

Roles

Discography

*Romano Franceschetto, Fernando Luis Ciuffo, Filippo Bettoschi, Milan Madrigalists, Chiara Chialli, et al. Alberto Veronesi cond, Guido Cantelli Orchestra Milan. 2 CDs, DDD, Chandos, 17th March 1998
*Simon Edwards, Salomé Haller, Liliana Faraon, Raimonds Spogis, Hjördis Thébault, et al. Jean-Claude Malgoire cond., La Grande Écurie et la Chambre du Roy, Chantres de la Chapelle de Versailles. 2 CDs, DDD, Dynamic, 3rd March 2003
*József Gregor, Mária Zempléni, Dénes Gulyás, Istvan Gáti, Eva Pánczél, et al. Tamás Pál cond., Salieri Chamber Orchestra, Salieri Chamber Chorus. 3 CDs, DDD, Hungaroton, 27th September 2003
*John Del Carlo, Teresa Ringholz, Richard Croft, Delores Ziegler, Jake Gardner, et al. Claus Viller, Agnes Meth dir., Arnold Östmann cond., Radio Symphony Orchestra Stuttgart. DVD, 120 mins, Arthaus Musik, 31st July 2000

References

External links

* [http://www.librettidopera.it/falstaffs/falstaffs.html Libretto (PDF)]
* [http://www.bamptonopera.org/repertory/salierifalstaff.htm Review quotes for a revival performance at the Bampton Opera]