Young at heart

Falstaff was not only Verdi’s final work for the stage, but also something of an anomaly for the great composer; after five decades and over two-dozen operas worth of moral corruption, vanity, weakness, and a cumulative death-toll that would have Euripides or Aeschylus nodding with approval, the appearance of such a generous human comedy must have come as something of a surprise. However it would appear that the Shakespearean scenario – considerably streamlined and, some would argue, improved by the librettist Arrigo Boito – inspired the eighty-year-old Verdi to write some of the most bracing, vigorous and infectiously joyous music of his career. When Falstaff is well-sung and well-acted, there are few other operas in the standard repertoire which can match it for pure delight. It is a pleasure, therefore, to report that the new…