Falstaff

Comic opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi
Libretto by Arrigo Boito

Sung in Italian with German surtitles

A production by the Vocal/Music Theatre programme in cooperation with the Stage Design and Costume Design programmes and the Symphony Orchestra of the Berlin University of the Arts.

Giuseppe Verdi's (1813-1901) final opera buffa, drawn from Shakespeare's The Merry Wives of Windsor and Henry IV - premiered at La Scala in 1893 - weaves sharp wit seamlessly with profound humanity. The eponymous knight Sir John Falstaff embodies, in triadic comic form, the hubris of old age, while the women of Windsor act as triumphant agents of female reason. Verdi orchestrates magnificent failure as cathartic triumph, in which petty vanities dissolve into universal laughter. Razor-sharp ensembles, sparkling coloratura and rhythmic brilliance culminate in the fugal finale: "Tutto nel mondo è burla" - the humanist punchline to end all punchlines.

Musical direction: Errico Fresis
Direction: Isabel Désirée Hindersin
Set design: Valia Lolidou and Pertti Hagelstein (Stage Design programme)
Costumes: JooEun Lee and Seohyun Kim (Costume Design programme)
Dramaturgy: Heike Fuhlbrügge
Lighting: Miriam Damm
Director's assistant: Taisiia Khokhlova

Sir John Falstaff: Xu Fan (4 and 7 July) / Eric Yonghyun Choi (5 and 8 July)
Ford: Jinhyouk Yoon (4 and 7 July) / Carlo Schmitz (5 and 8 July)
Fenton: Juhyun Kim (4 and 7 July) / Hanseul Lim (5 and 8 July)
Dr. Cajus: Junfan Wang (4 and 7 July) / Jakob Schuld (5 and 8 July)
Bardolfo: Leon Juurlink (4 and 7 July) / Yonas El Tawil (5 and 8 July)
Pistola: Jaewon Kwak (4 and 7 July) / Milutin Marjanovic (5 and 8 July)
Mrs. Alice Ford: Tianjiao Yin (4 and 7 July) / Lara Hüsges (5 and 8 July)
Nannetta: Letícia Peixoto de Moraes (4 and 7 July) / Sarah Hubbard (5 and 8 July)
Mrs. Quickly: Vivien Ivaylo Georgiev (4 and 7 July) / Mathilde Matzeit (5 and 8 July)