Customer Reviews

Verdi - Falstaff / Muti, Maestri, Frittoli, Florez, Frontali, Antonacci, Busseto Teatro Verdi

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

You will hardly find a Falstaff like this once again in your life. There is not a flaw in this DVD: the singers, the orchestra, the direction, the sound, la mise en scêne, they are all simply extraordinary. The most enjoyable surprise is Ambrosio Maestri, who performs the best Falstaff I have ever seen in my life. I used to think Bryn Terfel was the best singer in the world for this role, but it sufficed one minute listening to Maestri's voice to change my mind immediately. The warmth of his voice and the quality of his acting make him a perfect Sir John. Roberto Frontali and Barbara Fritolli as Mr and Mrs Ford are also wonderful. Juan Diego Flores (the great Peruvian tenor) and Inva Mula are splendid as Fenton and Nanetta. The rest of the cast are also brilliant, and Riccardo Mutti's conduction is exceptional. Finally, I want to mention that this DVD was so hard to find that the only way to get it was through the Amazon's British store

This was just a fabulous production overall! Every singer was charming and perfectly suited to their parts. Juan Diego Florez had to sing full tilt a few times just to be heard, but he was still more charming in this than anything else I have ever seen him in. Maestri was wonderful as Falstaff. Truly wonderful. Barbara Frittoli, once again, proves herself to be the most formidable operatic talent alive. She is just a superb actress and a superb singer. The entire production was solid and VERY enjoyable. This is worth the money!! Buy it, you won't regret it.

The only qualification that I could imagine someone making about this miraculous performance is that it takes place in a very small theater on a very small stage. But the singers are all fantastic--just to hear Florez sing Fenton's Act III aria is worth the price of admission. The women are simply delightful, Falstaff rich and characterful; only Ford is a bit mild and reserved. The sets are delicate, evocative and wonderfully old-fashioned (based on a 1913 Toscanini-conducted performance). Muti's conducting is light and effective--one needs to get adjusted to the lack of a full string section, but once that is made, everything flows beautifully. This really is a great, intimate performance and video. You feel lucky to be present in a small, cultured Italian town with the best singers and musicians imaginable.

I was persuaded to buy this dvd by the other reviewers. As I teach this work in class, I was looking to upgrade my beloved, older vhs of the 1983 Covent Garden performance with Bruson and Giulini, so that I could more easily access selected scenes.

However, I was sorely disappointed by this performance. Despite the reviewers' comments, I found the staging and performances to be leaden, with everyone most often simply standing in a line and singing with their eyes on the conductor, not on each other. In fact, Maestri seemed downright uncomfortable in the role and not able to take his eyes off of Muti. And I agree with the reviewer who said that Meastri is made up to look like Bozo the Clown! Falstaff is a real, dimensional character -- silly yet loveable, who ultimately wins our sympathy and respect. None of that character subtlety is in Maestri's performance for me -- especially coming on the heels of Bruson's totally convincing performance on the vhs/Covent Garden version. At the end of this performance, as the orchestra plays out after the fugue, the Covent Garden performance has everyone dancing about in general merrymaking -- here they all simply stand in a line (again!) with their arms raised like a bad high school musical tableau.

If you're considering this performance -- keep looking.

Famous Verdi`s operatic last words: "Tutto nel mondo e burla, l`uomo e nato burlone burlon" would translate in something like "Everything in this world is a tease. Human beings were born teasers". Everytime I listen at this opera I get the strange feeling that indeed, old Verdi has been teasing us with an opera that breaks every single stylistic paradigm, demonstrating to the hypercritical young composers of his times (including Arrigo Boito himself) that old Verdi could rule even on the territory of the verismo. If I should have to define Falstaff with a single word that would be: "Exquisite". The monumental darkness of Othello and the Requiem are left behind and Falstaff rises as a completely fresh, "young" and enlightened approach to the Italian opera for the XX century. I perceive Falstaff as an intimate masterpiece that reflects the maturity and tranquillity of mind of the old maestro during his last years of life in the bucolic settings of Sant`Agata. That is why I really liked this version of Falstaff constrained to a small theatre and to a reduced orchestra under the conduction of the legendary Muti. Probably Verdi would have approved this small scale approach to his opera rather that the lavish and opulent approach of Zeffirelli`s MET staging. It is true that, at times, the acting and movement of the singers are much constrained by the dimensions of the stage but they are highly compensated by the impeccable musical interpretation of their parts. True that Ambrogio Maestri is not the best Falstaff ever, but it is also true that the chemistry between Juan Diego Florez and Cathrina Antonacci is fantastic. As one of the reviewers said Florez last act aria pays for the admission. This is perhaps the best Fenton I have ever had the chance to listen at.

This is a traditional production with world greatest singer. I own every Fallstaff available on DVD and this one is definitely the BEST of all....this is a MUST HAVE DVD.

I loved this production. It was lively and colorful.The costumes were copies of the 1913 production. The singers were the best, starting with the principal singer Ambroglio Maestri. Barbara Frittoli, Frontali, Mula and Antonacci were absolutely fantastic. Bernadette Manca di Nissa was a great Mrs. Quickly. Although the stage was small, the singers were able to make the best of space. The stereo surround sound was really wonderful. The Met production cannot compare to this one. Costumes were simpler and sets not too appealing. The best of this Falstaff was the clarity of the Italian. Every singer's Italian was crisp and clear for anyone who understands Italian to catch every nuance. Bravo Verdi!
What octets and quartets!

This is a fun Opera with lots of humor and enjoyable aria's. The participants are good actors and singers. It's money well spent. I've watched and listened to it several times. A nice change from the many 'tragic' operas.

Falstaff, Verdi's last opera, premiered in 1893 when the composer was 80 years of age, is full of energy, the pace frenetic, yet his most stingy score with not one note superfluous. In short, compact, a chamber piece despite the complex orchestration.

This DVD, a live performance recorded in 2001 in the small and cosy Teatro Verdi in Busseto, close to Verdi's place of birth, a century after his death, is an appropriate venue to showcase this masterpiece. Some have complained that the stage was too small, too crowded, claustrophobic. But Falstaff is a chamber opera, and the tight setting fits admirably.

Others complain about the weak peformance of Ambrogio Maestri in the title role. They may be more familiar with the interpretations by Valdengo, Gobbi (especially), Evans, Bruson, Terfel, Pertusi, etc..., where Falstaff's buffonery takes centre stage. True, this performance highlghts the women, Alice (Barbara Fritolli) especially, but also Quickly (Bernadette Manca di Nissa), yet Maestri manages to hold his own. The young lovers, Nanetta (Inva Mula) and Fenton (Juan Diego Florez) are a delightful diversion. At the end, of course, the balance is restored. All are winners and losers.

Ruggero Cappuccio's direction is superb. The sets are evocative without being distracting, the characters, in period costumes, move naturally across the small stage, every facial expression, gesture, caught by the camera (thanks to Pierre Cavasillas). No weak links.

Riccardo Muti, with a scaled-down Teatro alla Scala orchestra and chorus, produces a sparkling interpretation.

A fitting tribute to mark the centenary of the master's departure. And his last opera, a semi-private reflection on life, in a most intimate setting.

This is an acceptable rendering of a great opera. From my perspective what keeps it from high praise is that one never believes the characters are real. Yes, it is and should be opera buffo, but when we make characters total buffons or use extreme characterizations we lose poignance and to my mind relevance. We are thus the less likely to watch this and see the flaws withing our own character.