FALSTAFF at San Francisco Opera

Welsh bass-baritone Bryn Terfel, "one of the great Falstaffs of this or any age" (San Francisco Classical Voice) owns Giuseppe Verdi's title role in a production from Lyric Opera of Chicago. The larger-than-life Falstaff is low on money and attempts to obtain funds by seducing two married women simultaneously, but his schemes are thwarted. The composer's farcical final opera is set to text by Arrigo Boito based on plays by William Shakespeare. Olivier Tambosi directs an international ensemble, including Spanish soprano Ainhoa Arteta as Alice, Italian baritone Fabio Capitanucci as her husband, Ford, and American soprano Heidi Stober as their daughter Nannetta. Frank Philipp Schlossmann creates the scenery and costumes and Christine Binder designs the lighting. Italian maestro Nicola Luisotti leads the San Francisco Opera Orchestra in an event that "should not be missed" (San Francisco Examiner). Falstaff is performed in Italian with English subtitles and has an approximate running time of 2 hours and 10 minutes.

Authors

• James Plasted Webber