Ambrogio Maestri masterful as a decadent jester

The Paris Opera is back with a light work, staged by Dominique Pitoiset, and carried by an inspired baritone and an enthusiastic female quartet. In the applause, Falstaff is a great success.

Right from the start, one thing is clear: Italian baritone Ambrogio Maestri is impressive both as an actor and as a singer in the title role of Verdi’s last opera. His stage presence is undeniable, his vocal performance is spectacular, repeatedly triggering applause from the audience. The native of Pavia perfectly masters his character. He made his debut in 2001 in the title role of Falstaff at La Scala in Milan and at the Teatro Verdi in Busseto. And he celebrated his 250th performance at the Vienna Staatsoper in 2016. At the Opéra Bastille, this Tuesday, September 10, he lets all his talent shine. He is Falstaff, a pot-bellied old aristocrat, penniless and amoral, a buffoon who refuses to accept the assaults of time. In the era of #Metoo, he is reminiscent of certain very living characters.

Who is Falstaff? Before being an opera-bouffe in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi, on a libretto by Arrigo Boito, created at La Scala in Milan on February 9, 1893 and at the Opéra-Comique in Paris on April 18, 1894, it is a Shakespearean creation. Sir John Falstaff is a comic character created by William Shakespeare appearing in both parts Henry IV, Henry V and in The Merry Wives of Windsor. The character really existed. At 80, Verdi wanted to have fun by composing a lighter work.I have wanted to write a comic opera for forty years,” he had confided. This will be his final work.

What is the story of Falstaff? A gargantuan satyr with an insatiable appetite for food, drink and women, short of money, seeks a lover to finance his excesses. He sends the same love letter to Mrs Alice Ford, mischievously played by Olivia Boen, and to her friend Meg Page, played by Marie-Andrée Bouchard-Lesieur. Certain of her charm, despite his age, he has no doubt of the success of his approach.Falstaff leers at them all, whether they are beautiful or ugly, virgins or married.” Except that the two women realize the subterfuge. A stratagem follows to punish the old Don Juan. Female vengeance is set in motion. To bait it: flattery.

Thanks to a decor inspired by the film Once upon a time in America, red brick buildings housing apartments above shops, Dominique Pitoiset sets the work at the beginning of the last century, which is obviously closer to Verdi than to Shakespeare. The director acknowledges that his approach would be completely different today than that of his original version.This production is from the last century, with its aesthetics very far from that of my recent projects. My bias would be different if I had to re-edit the work,” confides Dominique Pitoiset.

The orchestra conducted by Michael Schonwandt, who finely accompanies the artists, received numerous ovations from an enthusiastic audience. Highlights: the end of the second act and the finale which sees all the characters present on stage for an epic scene. Falstaff, a light and sparkling work that contains profound truths. Because if “The whole world is a joke“, human nature is a little more. And, once again, a comedy carried masterfully by Ambrogio Maestri.

Form

Title : Falstaff

Gender : lyric comedy in three acts (1893) after The Merry Wives of Windsor and scenes from William Shakespeare’s Henry IV

Duration: 2h40 with 1 intermission

Language: Italian

Surtitles: French / English

Music : Giuseppe Verdi

Booklet: Arrigo Boito

Musical direction: Michael Schønwandt

Staging: Dominique Pitoiset

Choirmaster: Alessandro Di Stefano

Decorations: Alexander Beliaev

Costume designer: Elena Rivkina

Distribution : Ambrogio Maestri, Olivia Boen, Marie-Andrée Bouchard-Lesieur, Andrii Kymach, Gregory Bonfatti, Marie-Nicole Lemieux, Iván Ayón-Rivas and Federica Guida.

Dates: Until September 10

Place : Bastille Opera, Place de la Bastille, 75012 Paris