Falstaff

Falstaff
Music by Guiseppe Verdi. Libretto by Arrigo Boito. Directed by Simon Phillips(1995). Revival Directed by Hugh Halliday. Opera Australia. State Theatre Arts Centre Melbourne. December 1,4,6,9,11, 2014

It seems more than fortuitous that this is Opera Australia’s last presentation for the year. Generations ago, pantomime was the traditional Christmas fare for families, and with Shakespeare’s Merry Wives of Windsor to draw on, Verdi and Boito created a delicious Christmas feast with the fruity plum pudding of Sir John Falstaff at its centre …and what a feast it is as interpreted by (originally) Simon Phillips and (revival) Hugh Halliday; full of slapstick comedy, gorgeous costumes, superb singing, sets to die for, and a colour palette which is a visual treat for any eye.

First, the colour palette – and ‘all hail” in Falstaffian fashion to Iain Aitken (set) and Tracy Grant Lord (costumes) for their vision. Even the colours are Christmasy, with each scene having its own signature colour – deep reds in the seedy Inn, The Garter; every shade of green, from the muted to the rich, in the village of Windsor; soft creams, yellows and pale pumpkin in the Ford house, and even black, white and gold in the winter forest …complete with snow. The costumes are sumptuous and cleverly designed to reflect the individual characters – a particular hat for Mistress Quickly, easily identifies her from the other women for example.

The set itself is marvellous with its rather cramped inn on a giant revolve opening to a complete village street filled with two storey houses, so that scenes are played on multiple levels. It’s all charming and enchanting and, if the forest cloth is a little disappointing, we have diminutive fairies and elves (fore-shortened on their knees) to compensate. Add Nick Schlieper’s gorgeous soft lighting and we are salivating even without the centrepiece – Verdi’s music.

The opera is set in England (though performed in Italian), and Joe Green (as he would be there) clearly understands the difference in sounds between the two countries. There are no langorous or dramatic arias, only a cursory nod to traditional Opera in the lovely Fairy song and the short duet between the young lovers. There is no overture and no superfluous dancing. Instead we are treated to contrapuntal melodies in different time signatures, a delicious quartet from the ‘Merry Wives’, even some lovely a capella. The score whips along at a cracking pace with delightfully emphasised moments that marry with the comedy. Christian Badea conducts a disciplined orchestra and yet the joyous enthusiasm is allowed to shine through at all times. All simply delicious.

As the pompous, portly, deluded, yet comical Sir John Falstaff, Warwick Fyfe excels and even makes the old rake endearing. He doesn’t have the biggest voice in the world, but it is pure and crystal clear, and his whole performance is so well rounded that one barely notices that he is outsung by the splendid Michael Honeyman, whose voice is true to his name, mellifluous at all times, rich and with just the right amount of edge for the character of Ford, Mistress Alice’s husband who tries to entrap Falstaff.

The female voices are all splendid and, like the set and costumes, add a different colour palette to the music. Jane Ede is a marvellous Alice Ford, her towering presence complementing her beautiful top notes, a lovely soprano with a finely tuned sense of comedy. Domenica Mathews is completely at ease with the somewhat complex melody runs she has and is the perfect stage foil to Fyfe’s Falstaff. Jacqueline Dark is wonderfully expressive as Meg Page and her gorgeous Mezzo voice provides rich brandy sauce for this confection. And Taryn Fiebig is suitably coquettish and in fine vocal form as the young lover Nanetta (The Fords’ daughter) partnered by a very impressive young tenor in Jonathan Abernethy, long locks flowing in true romantic fashion. The marvelous Kanen Breen (Bardolph) and Jud Arthur (Pistol) provide hysterical comic relief but we can’t overlook the superb quality of their singing. The chorus excel under the expert guidance of Anthony Hunt and even the children were totally at ease and a welcome adornment.

This wonderful production is indeed a feast of entertainment and music for Opera and Theatre lovers alike, and we’re lucky Opera Australia allows us to dine so sumptuously. A total satisfying banquet of Christmas fare.

Coral Drouyn

Images (from top): Jud Arthur as Pistola, Warwick Fyfe as Falstaff and Kanen Breen as Bardolfo; Jacqueline Dark as Meg Page, Dominica Matthews as Mistress Quickly, Jane Ede as Alice Ford and Taryn Fiebig as Nannetta; Jonathan Abernethy as Fenton and Taryn Fiebig as Nannetta; & Warwick Fyfe as Falstaff and Jane Ede as Alice Ford. Photographer: Jeff Busby.

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