Falstaff (1993)
It is to composer and librettist Arrigo Boito and his constant pestering of the octogenarian Verdi that there remained within him one last great comedy fighting to get out that we owe this absolute miracle of an opera. Produced in 1893 as Verdi turned 80 there is much in this masterpiece that can be identified as a modernist neoclassical work. The use of short motifs instead of long arioso melodic lines, the spry and reduced orchestral textures and the lack of a single 'stand and deliver' dramatic declamatory aria all serve to make this more of a 20th century work than an example of 19th century late-Romanticism.
Directors: Franco Zeffirelli, Brian Large.
 |
Mirella Freni as Alice Ford |
 |
Barbara Bonney as Nannetta |
 |
Paul Plishka as Sir John Falstaff |
|
Bruno Pola as Ford |
 |
Marilyn Horne as Mistress Quickly |
 |
Frank Lopardo as Fenton |
|
Piero De Palma as Dr. Cajus |
 |
Anthony Laciura as Bardolfo |
 |
James Courtney as Pistola |
 |
Susan Graham as Meg Page |
 |
James Levine as Self - Conductor |
|
Carole Wright as Mistress of the Inn |
|
Tim Willson as The Innkeeper |
|
MET Orchestra as |
| Directing | Franco Zeffirelli | Director |
| Writing | Arrigo Boito | Writer |
| Art | Franco Zeffirelli | Production Design |
| Art | Franco Zeffirelli | Set Designer |
| Production | Daniel Anker | Producer |
| Production | Victoria Warivonchik | Production Secretary |
| Production | Joseph Volpe | General Manager |
| Art | James Levine | Art Direction |
| Sound | Giuseppe Verdi | Original Music Composer |
| Lighting | Gil Wechsler | Lighting Design |
| Directing | Paul Mills | Stage Director |
| Directing | Brian Large | Director |
| Crew | William Burdick | Choreographer |
| Production | Susan Erben | Production Assistant |
| Crew | Ron Washburn | Technical Supervisor |
| Production | Louisa Briccetti | Producer |
| Sound | Bill King | Sound Supervisor |
| Sound | James Levine | Conductor |
| Production | Jessica Ruskin | Production Assistant |
