Falstaff is the opera that redeemed Giuseppe Verdi’s earlier attempts at comic opera, and Maltese opera buffs can now enjoy it in all its splendour, as performed by our national orchestra. Albert Storace catches up with conductor Colin Attard.
The interview with music director Colin Attard kicks off straight and to the point.
“Why Falstaff?”
“Why not?” he replies.
Taking on the role of devil’s advocate, it is impossible not to point out that Falstaff is not the mainstream Verdi that most audiences anywhere are used to, especially in Malta and Gozo. However, for this energetic director, this is precisely the reason behind the choice.
“Falstaff is a masterpiece, whichever way one looks at it. It deserves to be better known,” he said, strongly emphasising another point:
“It is the norm that opera should be seen and heard. With a good deal of operas, one can get to know them pretty well by simply listening to them, even if this is not an ideal situation.
“But Falstaff poses a great challenge and it is an absolute must that, in order to best appreciate it, this work has to be seen and heard. There is no half-way solution.”
But isn’t it something of a gamble to pick Gozo’s Aurora Opera House to present this performance?
“It may seem so to some, but we are unanimously confident that it is worth the trip. We want to celebrate Verdi’s 200th birthday in a fitting way, one also worthy of the 150th anniversary of the Leone Philharmonic Society, owner of the Aurora Opera House. The idea is to expand our horizons and also serve an educational purpose by familiarising local opera buffs with something that will certainly be worth their trouble.”
Attard may be on to something here: some years ago, despite misgivings aired quite broadly at the time, the Aurora’s production of Carmen in French (previously unheard of in these islands) registered a great success. So did another venture in less mainstream Verdi (less mainstream for locals, that is), when Macbeth was staged up the road.
Attard, who will be conducting the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra, enthused about Falstaff.
“The opera is amazing in more ways than one. The kind of Verdian music drama, already evident in Otello in 1887, becomes more sophisticated and nigh perfect in Falstaff, six years later.
Verdi was in his 80th year, yet he composed a work, together with librettist Arrigo Boito, which sparkles with litheness, mischief and joie de vivre, things not normally associated with such a venerable age.
In order to best appreciate it, this work has to be seen and heard
The Boito-Verdi tandem, already successful in the revised version of Simon Boccanegra, (1881) and the resounding success of Otello, reached a climax with Falstaff. The blending of the music with the lyrics, so carefully crafted in Boito’s libretto, is a triumph of musico-literary genius. It is also a vindication of Verdi’s returning to the comic genre with supreme success, thus wiping out the fiasco of the only other episode in his long career when he wrote a comic opera, the ill-fated Un Giorno di Regno, almost 53 years earlier.
The opera has a cast of 10 characters, at the head of which is Falstaff, the erratic, larger-than-life character created by William Shakespeare in The Merry Wives of Windsor and King Henry IV. As many know, both Verdi and Boito were quite hooked on Shakespeare, to put it mildly, and this source of inspiration was given full rein in the creation of the opera.
The title role has been entrusted to the very experienced Italian baritone Paolo Gavanelli, who boasts a very distinguished career to his name.
“We just wanted to get the best available. Rehearsal time being what it is, we took no chances and picked a cast of singers who are not only very good actors but who also already know this opera inside out as they have all sung in it elsewhere.
“We normally allow some space for local, promising singers, but this time we needed someone who was already experienced in the role.”
Falstaff offers a considerable musical challenge and, as Attard confirmed, the more you delve into the score, the more richness of invention is discovered.
“There is the use of leitmotifs, a device Verdi had already resorted to in earlier operas. There is an organic build-up, with themes repeated in different harmonies, always with great attention to the lyrics. This makes every musically-painted phrase count, thanks to the different tonalities and accents. The score completely reveals the beauty of true music drama.
“Falstaff focuses upon human qualities, both good and bad. There is the humane element and that of the fairy tale, pomposity and lust, love, the allure of money and the vain seeking of prestige.”
Attard also finds the positive manner in which Boito and Verdi project the female character remarkable for the era. Women, here, are very much mistresses of their own destiny, quite unlike other women in Verdi’s operas.
While also making subtle references to earlier comic opera styles, Falstaff remains very forward-looking.
Novella Tabili, who has successfully collaborated with the Aurora for the past 20 years, has been trusted with the artistic direction. Tabili calls the production “prova di maturità”, and her approach is semi-traditional and very accessible, with scenery being specially designed for the performance.
“With Falstaff, Verdi ends his long operatic career with a special flourish. The great, final fugue and the reflection Tutto il mondo è burla is his parting shot.
“He hurls it at us as if he were pointing out that when all is said and done, we should take things with a pinch of salt. He manages very well!”
Falstaff will be performed at the Aurora Opera House, Victoria, on October 12 at 7.30pm.