Manitoba Opera's warm and cheerful Falstaff cures the winter blahs

With the opening production of the new season, Manitoba Opera has finally presented all three of Verdi's Shakespeare operas.

Lacking the gravitas of the masterpiece Otello but a musical improvement on the earlier Macbeth, over the decades Falstaff has gained a much more solid footing in the opera repertoire.

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The aging master had his eye on the future and on the progressive advancements of Wagner when he wrote this opera in six short scenes based on The Merry Wives of Windsor and Henry IV and on the curious character of Sir John Falstaff.

In this lighthearted comedy, the wily and devilishly charming Sir John briefly gets his comeuppance when, once again out of funds but full of lust, he sets his eyes on two local damsels only to find out there is no fool like an old fool. Although being Falstaff, he is always out but never down for long.

The sets in this traditional production are simple but tasteful, the lighting is natural and warm, the costumes bright and cheerful and the orchestra robust and nuanced.

Though arias are eschewed by Verdi for the sake of progress and economy (the opera runs a pleasant two hours), the show is full of happy melodic snatches and bright bombast with a Mozartian chorus at the end that is both fun and melodically rich.

The baritones stand out, especially Todd Thomas as Falstaff, and Gregory Dahl as Ford has a rich, beautiful voice. The cast are uniformly strong as is the mostly female chorus. 

The comedy is a bit slapstick and corny but opera has few out-and-out belly laughs and this well-directed effort sometimes tries too hard to wring smiles from silly walks.

For fans of good music and good fun, it's not to be missed. The opening night ovation was one of the loudest I've heard for the company.

​Lara Rae is the CBC Manitoba Opera reviewer.