Falstaff (Salieri)

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Falstaff
Kärntnertortheater
, Vienna

Falstaff, ossia Le tre burle (Falstaff, or The Three Jokes) is a dramma giocoso in two acts by Antonio Salieri, set to a libretto by Carlo Prospero Defranceschi after William Shakespeare's The Merry Wives of Windsor.

One of the earliest operatic versions of Shakespeare's play, Salieri's Falstaff is notable for a general compression and streamlining of the original plot, note the absence of the two young lovers, Fenton and Anne, and the addition of a scene in which Mistress Ford pretends to be German to charm Falstaff (actually two such scenes exist, one in a separate score by Salieri was probably omitted from the original Viennese productions). Defranceschi moves the plot and structure away from Elizabethan drama and closer to the standard conventions of late 18th century opera buffa.

Highlights include the Sinfonia (overture) in the style of

Le nozze di Figaro
, which was being successfully revived at the time. Among the musical highlights, besides the sinfonia, are Falstaff's strutting Act I patter aria, the quartet in Act I, the duettino "La stessa, La stessissima", the technically brilliant "laughter" trio in the opening moments of Act II, the canonical duet of Mr. and Mrs. Ford toward the end of Act II (featuring a rare late 18th century cello solo) and the grand finale to Act II. Throughout the score Salieri employs careful tone painting, parody of opera seria conventions, a more harmonically interesting structure for the secco recitative, and more involved counterpoint; traits that have helped return Falstaff to the playing boards.

Performance history

It was first performed at the

Kärntnertortheater in Vienna on 3 January 1799. Twenty-six performances were given between then and 1802. The American premiere took place on 15 November 1974 in the National Theater of the Boston Center for the Arts with David Arnold in the title role, supported by Elizabeth Phinney, Pamela Gore, Frank Hoffmeister, and Ernest Triplett, with an English translation by Michael Auclair and scenery by William Fregosi. The conductor was Robert Willoughby Jones. Bampton Classical Opera
performed it in 2004.

Roles

Cast Voice type Premiere, January 3, 1799
(Conductor: - )
Sir John Falstaff
bass
Carlo Angrisani
Master Ford tenor Giuseppe Simoni
Mistress Ford soprano Irene Tomeoni
Master Slender baritone Ignaz Saal
Mistress Slender soprano Louise Milloch
Bardolf, Falstaff's servant baritone Gaetano Lotti
Betty, Mistress Ford's maid soprano Marianne Gaßmann

Arrangements

Beethoven used the duet La stessa, La stessissima for a series of variations, WoO 73.[1]

Discography

References

Sources

External links