Elizabeth – What a terrific production of Falstaff!  This was my first opera with James Levine back at the helm and what a great production overall.  I loved Robert Carsen moving the action to post World War II England.  Updating operas to the modern times often make them more relatable to me, and I think this update also deepened the story overall. 

It’s amazing the relaxed air one feels when Levine is conducting.  All is right in the world and we, the audience, could just sit back and enjoy the show.  The orchestra played more confidently and crisply and the singers were great.  None of it came across as nervous energy, just focused.  Over a decade ago the first operas I saw were conducted by Levine and I didn’t realize the impact he has over the entire opera.  This past year’s opera overdose made me realize the role of the conductor.  How great it is to have Levine back.

The opera opens with Ambrogio Maestri as Falstaff, still in bed.  Room service tables streaked with red wine litter the room.  As Falstaff, in badly stained longjohns, slowly wakes up, his attendants roll out from under the bed.  Larger than life, the 6’5” Maestri’s Falstaff is amazing and amazingly huge.  His voice is rich and confident, his acting specific.  Clearly he does this role often, yet it doesn’t come across as tired or bored.

As we move from Falstaff’s hotel room to the clubby feel of a room at Garter Inn downstairs, we meet the wealthy wives of Windsor, one of whom Falstaff hopes to seduce in order to get his hotel tab paid.  I loved the wives of Windsor—Jennifer Johnson Cano, Stephanie Blythe, and Angela Meade, were all terrific vocally.  Quickly was sometimes too over the top, but that is part of Quickly’s role.  That seems to be a tricky part whereby one has to pretend to be a character overacting but not actually overact yourself as the actor.  Otherwise it becomes a bit of a shtick.

Franco Vassallo as Ford was entertaining.  He was a bit difficult to hear at points in the second act, when he was disguised as Mister Brook, but that could have been opening night jitters.  

The quartet to nontet in act one seemed a bit muddled.  This is a difficult passage; it wasn’t clear to me if the muddling was conductor or singers related or both.

The second part of act two is set in a 1950s brightly colored kitchen—one that spans the entire stage and is closed off at either end.  The comedy inside those walls was hilarious.  I loved the daughter being mistaken for the cheating Alice by Ford and Falstaff being tossed out the window.

The third act was magical, though the live horse onstage at the beginning of the act was a bit distracting.  He was swallowing hay franticly, barely coming up for air.  Had he not been fed for days?!?  And I worried about Falstaff being run over by moving tables at the end of the third act, but overall the magic and sweetness of love triumphing and Falstaff’s fear of seeing the fairies, witches and ghouls won me over.

And of course the breaking of the fourth wall and the house lights coming up at the end brought the audience into the opera and visually unified them with the singers.  But I think we had been unified emotionally the entire performance.    

Shawn – At the premiere of Robert Carsen’s new production of Falstaff, there was far more black tie as there was a gala dining event on the grand tier, but also a happy buzz of anticipation and excitement in the audience and entire house.   Whether this was for Levine or the new production I don’t know but it was great to feel.  I used to feel that kind of excitement at the Met very often when I was a kid there, but haven’t in quite some time.  It made me happy and gave me some hope for opera continuing to have audience in general.

So did the show.  From the moment Levine slowly rose out of the darkness on his custom built lift and swiveled to face the orchestra, like Darth Vader in his Vader Egg in Empire Strikes Back, the audience was hooked.  As was I.

First off, if you are a newbie to opera or have never been to an opera before, go see this Falstaff at the Met.  It’s the perfect production for a first time operagoer.  The action is updated to the 1950’s and the sets are great, especially Alice Ford’s giant linoleum kitchen at the end of act two.  The production is actually laugh out loud funny, engaging and it flies time-wise.  It’s about 90 minutes, break, then an hour.  Anyone can handle that and as I said it flies, as time does when you’re having fun.

So if you are a first time operagoer or newbie, do yourself a favor and go.  Go now. 

Ambrogio Maestri is amazing as Falstaff.  Absolutely.  Funny, specific and vocally stunning.  His rich sound fills and vibrates every molecule of the house.  SO refreshing and tragically rare in opera today.  Friday marked his 200^thperformance of Falstaff but his first ever at the Met.  I had loved him as Dulcamara in Elisir last year and am now a full on fan of his.  I cannot wait to see what he does in the future.   I’ll be there as will much of the audience Friday night I’d wager. 

The Merry Wives themselves were excellent.  Stephanie Blythe as Mistress Quickly, Jennifer Johnson Cano as Meg Page, Angela Meade as Alice Ford and Lisette Oropesa as Alice’s daughter Nannetta all inhabited their roles joyfully and their voices blended something.  The fun they seemed to be having was contagious to the audience who hung on every comic beat.  

Was everything perfect?  No.  The famous quartet near the end of act one slid a touch off the rails at a couple points, whether this was Levine, the singers or opening night nerves I do not know.   Franco Vassallo as Ford and Paolo Fanale as Fenton were not quite as impressive vocally as the women.  Additionally I do not think the onstage lighting effects always worked and when they did not it was distracting.  For Nannetta and Fenton’s duet in the restaurant the darkening of the stage was effective.  But for Ford’s aria it just looked as if a lighting cue had been missed and he was singing in excessive darkness.  I also caught a glimpse of the trap door in the linen basket through which Maestri escaped before being “thrown” into the river. 

But these are small considerations in light of as much laughter and bubbling enthusiasm and excitement as I have ever heard at the Met.  And come the curtain calls the audience roared baby roared.  As did I.

Again, if a newbie or first time operagoer go see this production. (Do this now.)

Falstaff is playing through 1/11/14 at the Metropolitan Opera.

For tickets visit: www.metoperafamily.org/opera/falstaff