Falstaff

The Graham Vicks production of FALSTAFF opened the new Covent Garden Royal Opera House and was not to everybodys taste the garish primary colours of the costumes The staging is effectivethe complicated counterpoint of the ensembles is reflected in unobtrusive blocking that keeps the vocal lines clear and separate especially in the final fugue Bryn Terfels Falstaff is a memorable creation selfmocking and selfaggrandising at the same timeso much so in fact that he almost does not need the vast prosthetic body he has to wear for the part Desiree Rancatore is an admirably sweettoned Nanetta Bernadette Manca di Nissa an appropriately sardonic Mistress Quickly Roberto Frontali as Ford in his Act 2 scena perfectly distils and parodies every jealousy aria ever written including Verdis own Haitinks conducting is exemplary in the lyrical passages gets almost everything out of the fast and furious comic sections