This past weekend, I went to visit my girlfriend in Kentucky. I also went to support her during her debut, leading-role performance in the opera Falstaff. I saw the show three different times; I now know it like the back of my hand.
Falstaff was written by Giuseppe Verdi in the late 19th century, and was inspired by Shakespeare’s characters in The Merry Wives of Windsor. It follows Sir John Falstaff, a fat, greedy, gluttonous lecher. In an attempt to sate both his lust and his greed, he sends two letters to two rich, beautiful women in the area: Alice Ford and Meg Page. The women, being friends, quickly put together Falstaff’s idiotic plan, and rather than immediately exposing him for the creep he is, decide to punish him themselves with a series of schemes. With the help of Quickly and Nannetta, they devise a plan to humiliate Falstaff. Ford, Alice’s husband, also finds out about Falstaff’s plan, and decides (completely separately of his wife) to trick Falstaff as well. In an intricate web of events, everyone gets their revenge on Falstaff, but everyone also learn that life is one big joke. My girlfriend played Nannetta, Alice’s daughter. Nannetta is in love with Fenton, a suitor who doesn’t meet the requirements of Nannetta’s father, Ford. Instead, Ford wants Dr. Caius to be Nannetta’s future husband. Ultimately, this is also wrapped up humorously with Fenton and Nannetta being happily married. I don’t want to give away the story, but if you want to spoil it yourself, you can find anything you want to know about the opera at the following link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falstaff_%28opera%29
Before I say anything else, I very much liked the nature of the opera. When I think of opera, a tragedy comes to mind, usually with a less than happy ending. Falstaff, however, was so humorous and happy that almost none of the show could’ve or should’ve been taken seriously. In fact, the point of the story was that life is one big joke.
As a result, on-stage mishaps usually just blended in with the rest of the story. For instance, in act 3, Fenton has to put on a monk’s robe on-stage. During cast A’s performance, the robe was put on backwards with the hood draping down Fenton’s chest. Whereas this kindof mistake would’ve certainly taken away from a more serious play like Romeo et Juliet, Falstaff was so ridiculous that I would’ve just thought it was part of the story had I not already seen it twice. In that way, it took a lot of stress away from the actors, and allowed them to have way more fun with the show than a more somber opera would’ve.
There were two casts. I saw cast 1 on Friday and Saturday; I saw cast A (not sure why it’s A instead of 2) on Sunday. Overwhelmingly, I liked cast 1. Jonathan R. Green was terrific as John Falstaff (right in the picture below). He perfectly depicted a greedy, immoral lecher, and had the comical faces and behaviors that compounded his already very humorous role
My favorite character though was Cast 1’s Mistress Quickly, played by Holly Dodson (far left in the above picture). Dodson’s Quickly was a tad girly, overwhelmingly mischievous, and undeniably in-control. I had the idea that she was the mastermind of the characters, with only Alice giving her a run for her money in ruthlessness. Dodson clearly displayed this faux-innocence while at the same time making Quickly an utterly likable character. I was in love with her by the last act.
Another notable character was Ford. Michael Preacely’s (left in picture below) wonderful, deep voice conveyed power and danger, much like Ford’s character.
Finally, cast 1’s Nannetta (Far right in picture above). When she sang, the atmosphere in the room seemed to lift. People around me seemed engrossed and distant, as if captured by some surreal power surrounding us. Surely, I thought, I was just biased. Of course she sounded good to me. I noted the relatively large amounts of applause she received, both after her aria in act 3 and at the conclusion of the play. I don’t think I imagined the significant amounts of hoots and hollers.
Falstaff was a wonderful story, and UK put it on brilliantly; I found myself liking it more the third time I watched it than I did the first. With an even mixture of high-brow puns, burns, and slightly raunchy innuendos, it appeals to all kinds of humor. The engaging story and uplifting conclusion also puts you in good spirits, and may possibly even teach you something about life and how to live it humorously.
No comments:
Post a Comment