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Opera Company's "Falstaff'
Steve Cohen
A triumph in spite of its star
STEVE COHEN
The dramatic action of Verdi’s Falstaff revolves around Shakespeare’s title character. The music, however, does not. It’s an ensemble piece that emphasizes orchestral playing and conducting.
Thankfully, the Opera Company of Philadelphia’s production includes a great ensemble and fine orchestral playing led by Corrado Rovaris. Particularly impressive performances are supplied by Mark Stone as Master Ford, Christine Goerke as Alice Ford, Meredith Arwady as Mistress Quickly, Matthew Rose as Pistol and Steven Cole as Bardolph. (Cole performed the same role in Philadelphia in 1981; he is a master of the part.) Even the players I didn’t mention range from very good to excellent; their voices blend in the ensembles, which include intricate scenes where four or five men sing in one time signature while four women are singing in a different meter.
The least outstanding performance in this otherwise enjoyable production is that by the title character. Roberto de Candia possesses a high baritone voice with a lean tone. It’s ideal for Figaro in The Barber of Seville, which he sang here in 2005. But de Candia’s voice is problematic as Falstaff. What’s needed is a heavier, darker hue to convey the character and his girth, and to complement the voices around him.
Disappointing moments
In Falstaff’s scenes with Mistress Quickly, for example, he needs to echo her suggestion of the hours, "from two until three, dalle due alle tre," when Alice will be alone and her husband out of the house, and Falstaff’s repetition of the phrase should have more vocal weight and dramatic point than Quickly’s. Candia’s voice, however, is lighter than Arwady’s, and so the scene is thrown off kilter.
De Candia similarly disappointed me in the long scene with two baritones, Falstaff and Ford, in the Garter Inn. Here Falstaff’s voice should be the booming, darker one because the man is playing a heavy, a seducer, and also because he’s older and physically weightier. But the voice of Stone, as Ford, was the dominant one. Stone is an Englishman with impressive talent; his voice and facial expressions convey subtlety and variety.
Missing the character’s nobility
De Candia plays Falstaff for laughs, with exaggerated dance steps and other shtick, and he misses the character’s nobility. Here, after all, is a one-time knight, a close friend of Prince Hal who became King Henry V. Sir John has become a glutton and a boozer, lost his hair and his waistline, but underneath is a man who still thinks of himself as an attractive companion to royalty. His delusion is pathetic and can make us weep for him, though not in this impersonation.
On the plus side, De Candia sings ringing top notes for his Honor monologue in Act One.
Despite this shortcoming, the opera is a masterpiece and the production a joy. The most outstanding performances of this opera in my memory were conducted by Toscanini in 1949 (preserved on records) and by Bernstein at the Met in 1964. In both those cases the men who played the title role were so insignificant that I’ll bet you can’t remember who played either of them. (They were Giuseppe Valdengo and Anselmo Colzani, respectively.)
I took a friend to see Falstaff then, and afterward he complained, "Where were the melodies?" Verdi in this, his last score, abandoned the conventional form of arias and gave us a plethora of beautiful tunes of short duration. Today’s audiences are more knowledgeable and appreciative, and this well-rehearsed production directed by Robert Driver and conducted by Rovaris gives them plenty to appreciate.
STEVE COHEN
The dramatic action of Verdi’s Falstaff revolves around Shakespeare’s title character. The music, however, does not. It’s an ensemble piece that emphasizes orchestral playing and conducting.
Thankfully, the Opera Company of Philadelphia’s production includes a great ensemble and fine orchestral playing led by Corrado Rovaris. Particularly impressive performances are supplied by Mark Stone as Master Ford, Christine Goerke as Alice Ford, Meredith Arwady as Mistress Quickly, Matthew Rose as Pistol and Steven Cole as Bardolph. (Cole performed the same role in Philadelphia in 1981; he is a master of the part.) Even the players I didn’t mention range from very good to excellent; their voices blend in the ensembles, which include intricate scenes where four or five men sing in one time signature while four women are singing in a different meter.
The least outstanding performance in this otherwise enjoyable production is that by the title character. Roberto de Candia possesses a high baritone voice with a lean tone. It’s ideal for Figaro in The Barber of Seville, which he sang here in 2005. But de Candia’s voice is problematic as Falstaff. What’s needed is a heavier, darker hue to convey the character and his girth, and to complement the voices around him.
Disappointing moments
In Falstaff’s scenes with Mistress Quickly, for example, he needs to echo her suggestion of the hours, "from two until three, dalle due alle tre," when Alice will be alone and her husband out of the house, and Falstaff’s repetition of the phrase should have more vocal weight and dramatic point than Quickly’s. Candia’s voice, however, is lighter than Arwady’s, and so the scene is thrown off kilter.
De Candia similarly disappointed me in the long scene with two baritones, Falstaff and Ford, in the Garter Inn. Here Falstaff’s voice should be the booming, darker one because the man is playing a heavy, a seducer, and also because he’s older and physically weightier. But the voice of Stone, as Ford, was the dominant one. Stone is an Englishman with impressive talent; his voice and facial expressions convey subtlety and variety.
Missing the character’s nobility
De Candia plays Falstaff for laughs, with exaggerated dance steps and other shtick, and he misses the character’s nobility. Here, after all, is a one-time knight, a close friend of Prince Hal who became King Henry V. Sir John has become a glutton and a boozer, lost his hair and his waistline, but underneath is a man who still thinks of himself as an attractive companion to royalty. His delusion is pathetic and can make us weep for him, though not in this impersonation.
On the plus side, De Candia sings ringing top notes for his Honor monologue in Act One.
Despite this shortcoming, the opera is a masterpiece and the production a joy. The most outstanding performances of this opera in my memory were conducted by Toscanini in 1949 (preserved on records) and by Bernstein at the Met in 1964. In both those cases the men who played the title role were so insignificant that I’ll bet you can’t remember who played either of them. (They were Giuseppe Valdengo and Anselmo Colzani, respectively.)
I took a friend to see Falstaff then, and afterward he complained, "Where were the melodies?" Verdi in this, his last score, abandoned the conventional form of arias and gave us a plethora of beautiful tunes of short duration. Today’s audiences are more knowledgeable and appreciative, and this well-rehearsed production directed by Robert Driver and conducted by Rovaris gives them plenty to appreciate.
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