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OPERA REVIEW
A Truly Satisfying Falstaff
August 28, 2001
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By Michael Zwiebach
The outdoor theater of Santa Fe Opera is surrounded by such spectacular natural scenery that knowing what they have to compete with must help the company keep up to the mark in preparing a production. The play of lightning over the Jemez Mountains and the sinking sun lighting up the Sangre de Cristo range must be the show's nightly warm-up. Tuesday it was Falstaff, and the Santa Fe Opera justified its reputation as a first-rank company as it gave a dramatically and musically satisfying account of Arrigo Boito and Giuseppe Verdi's swift ensemble comedy.
Directed by Jonathan Miller, with scenic design by Robert Israel, the production is set in 15th century England, as expected. But at least one set — Act I, scene 2 (outside Ford's house) — has something of a Southwest feel, with its brightly colored exterior window set at a strangely kinetic angle to the ground. Clare Mitchell's costumes are also of the period, but lively and original.
Miller's main contributions are his view of Verdi's comedy as a whole and the sense of real human emotion that forms the basis of the action. In the great duet between Ford and Falstaff (Act II, Scene 1), Scott Hendricks' Ford had a believably difficult time keeping his disguise in place as he discovered his wife's duplicity. His agony made Falstaff's reappearance in his comically over-the-top wooing garb much funnier. And in this production, Ford was let in on the joke as, in the next scene, the laundry basket containing Falstaff was dumped into the Thames.
A few touches in Miller's direction seemed more forced than funny. During the Act II finale, Ford and his men, who are unknowingly stalking Fenton and Nannetta, suddenly dropped to their stomachs and began to elbow-crawl, Marine style, toward the screen they believe is hiding Falstaff. Group movement of this kind usually provokes a chuckle, but it had to be repeated, and that made it merely intrusive. As Falstaff, Andrew Shore — who also took this role in a recent and well-received English National Opera production — embodied an idea of Falstaff that seems to be more in vogue today. Shore's Falstaff was an aging Don Juan, funny now because of his age, but still given to small-time criminality and roguishness. His companions, Pistol and Bardolph (respectively Wilbur Pauley, an excellent physical comedian, and the experienced and reliable Anthony Laciura), were clearly the lowest kind of drunkards and petty thieves, though their military training often showed through their besottedness. In the very first scene, while counting the money his henchmen have stolen from Dr. Caius the night before, Falstaff calmly dismissed him. But Falstaff also has an inflated ego: There was no better moment in the show than the beginning of the third act when, drenched from his recent Thames dunking, Shore literally crawled onstage and delivered the opening of Falstaff's outraged monolog, "Mondo ladro!" ("Thieving world!").
Shore's performance was a model of good comic opera style. His vocal effects, as in that monolog, were never pointed to or overdone. His singing accommodated parlante easily. But it was always part of a melodic line that he merely relaxed a little to make comic points or to create a natural sense of dialog. When, after cursing the world, he turned back to his wine ("Ber del vin dolce"), he floated some fine legato phrases before rising to an impressive climax. There were excellent contributions from the rest of the cast as well, as there must be in this show of driven, rapid-fire dialog and interactions. There are few extended lyric moments, until the final act, when the lovers sing two pretty, long arias. As Fenton, Gregory Turay displayed a lovely tenor, warm and controlled. He made a high point out of "Dal labbro il canto estasiato," Fenton's sonnet, the climax of the love music. His Nannetta was Danielle de Niese, a lyric soprano with a fine sense of phrasing. She brought off her big set piece, "Born on the freshening breeze" ("Sul fil d'un soffio etesio"), with grace and polish. She and Turay made an engaging couple.
Mistress Quickly is one of Verdi's most rewarding characters, in the center of all the plotting. A good singer can find a lot of opportunity in all the different situations, and Kathleen Kuhlmann was up to the job. Her rich voice was equally adept at the mock solemnity of her greeting to Falstaff ("Reverenza!") and in the panic that announced Ford's entrance in the Act II finale. As Meg Page, Judith Christin was in excellent form, while Alwyn Mellor, as Alice Ford, made a terrific impression. Here is a singer with the control to toss off the laughing "Merry Wives of Windsor" solo and the comic verve to spar with Falstaff during their "love" scene ( to set up his dunking). Scott Hendricks made a believable character out of the stuffy Ford, and sang with authority as well. The orchestra, under Alan Gilbert, was spot-on the entire night, playing with clarity and force without ever obscuring the voices. Gilbert was an excellent interpreter of this difficult score, flexible in his tempos while keeping the rhythms sharp and imposing tight logic on the ensembles. The final fugue was marvelously detailed, yet sung with rich, full tone. This was as satisfying a production as one could wish for. (Michael Zwiebach holds a Ph.D. in musicology from UC Berkeley, specializing in opera, and is a lecturer for the San Francisco Opera.) ©2001 Michael Zwiebach, all rights reserved |
