The Graham Vicks production of FALSTAFF opened the new Covent Garden Royal Opera House, and was not to everybody's taste; the garish primary colours of the costumes. The staging is effective--the complicated counterpoint of the ensembles is reflected in unobtrusive blocking that keeps the vocal lines clear and separate, especially in the final fugue. Bryn Terfel's Falstaff is a memorable creation, self-mocking and self-aggrandising at the same time--so much so, in fact, that he almost does not need the vast prosthetic body he has to wear for the part. Desiree Rancatore is an admirably sweet-toned Nanetta; Bernadette Manca di Nissa an appropriately sardonic Mistress Quickly; Roberto Frontali as Ford, in his Act 2 scena, perfectly distils and parodies every jealousy aria ever written, including Verdi's own. Haitink's conducting is exemplary in the lyrical passages, gets almost everything out of the fast and furious comic sections.
Bryn Terfel
as Falstaff
Roberto Frontali
as Ford
Kenneth Tarver
as Fenton
Gwynne Howell
as Pistol
Robin Leggate
as Dr Caius
Peter Hoare
as Pistol / Bardolph
Barbara Frittoli
as Alice Ford
Desirée Rancatore
as Nanetta
Bernadette Manca di Nissa
as Mistress Quickly
Diana Montague
as Meg Page
Orchestra of the Royal Opera House
as
