Teatru Manoel in collaboration with Malta National Opera (MNO) presents Giuseppe Verdi’s comical opera “Falstaff”. The Italian-language libretto was adapted by Arrigo Boito from the play The Merry Wives of Windsor and scenes from Henry IV, Part 1 and Part 2, by William Shakespeare. The work premiered on 9 February 1893 at La Scala, Milan.
Falstaff was the last of Verdi’s 26 operas. It was his second comedy, and his third work based on a Shakespeare play, following Macbeth and Otello. The plot revolves around the thwarted, sometimes farcical, efforts of the fat knight Sir John Falstaff to seduce two married women to gain access to their husbands’ wealth.
Cast
Falstaff – Kiril Manolov
Ford – Vittorio Prato
Alice – Elisa Balbo
Nannetta – Amelie Hois
Meg Page – Annie Reilly
Quickly – Isabel De Paoli
Fenton – Nico Darmanin
Dr. Caius – Stanley Portelli
Bardolfo – Gareth Morris
Pistola – Wyn Pencarreg
Chorus
OperaNova Project Chorus
Malta Philharmonic Orchestra
Crew
Stage Director – Barbara Diana
Conductor – Federico Tibone
Designer – Stewart Charlesworth