Verdi’s final opera, his comic masterpiece Falstaff, was revived by Hungarian State Opera on Nov. 16. in Swiss director Arnaud Bernard’s 2013 staging set in the fabulous 1950s. Opening and closing with a freeze frame set within a giant period TV screen, the update perfectly suits the work’s constant plot shifts and intricately-wrought musical ensembles. Despite a slightly misjudged directorial nod that we are watching a show within a show, this tightly-executed revival delivers all the self-mocking humanity of Verdi’s late comedy.
Scene from Hungarian State Opera’s Falstaff. Photo: Valter Berecz/Hungarian State Opera
The scene opens with Falstaff and his shady henchmen, Dr. Caius (Péter Balczó), Pistola (András Kiss) and Bardolfo (Botond Ódor) at their usual haunt, the Garter Inn. We are in a respectable country inn decked out with a plethora of wall-mounted stag heads and an oversized pool table. Bardolfo, he of the famous drink-sodden red nose, has racked up a hefty tab which is hilariously rolled out along the entire length of the pool table. Tired of being taken advantage of by these clowns, Falstaff sends them packing, but not before revealing his plan to seduce the very-much wedded Alice Ford and her friend, Meg Page.
Alice, her jealous husband Ford, and their daughter Nannetta live in a quintessentially mid-century modern abode, their kitchen decked out with all of the modern conveniences. The central playing platform, defined by neat kitchen cupboards and appliances, is moored like an island within a vast ‘backstage’ area. Singers enter and exit the kitchen, ostensibly from ‘offstage’, but there is no real attempt to distinguish when they are in, or out of character as they do so. The conceit doesn’t add much to the overall concept, and one could see it being abandoned completely and not affect was is otherwise very effective story-telling.
Scene from Hungarian State Opera’s Falstaff. Photo: Valter Berecz/Hungarian State Opera
Central to this production’s success is the Falstaff of bass-baritone Péter Kálmán. He embodies Verdi and Shakespeare’s preening knight, whose self-regard knows no bounds. Singing of his “empire”—in actuality, his protruding pot belly—Kálmán exudes all the self-importance that will eventually lead to him being mercilessly mocked, and knocked down more than a peg or two. Possessed of a rich, cavernous tone, the Budapest native is also a keen master of text, so crucial in a work rich in innuendo and word play.
Falstaff fully expects women to capitulate to his delusional advances, but Alice, Meg and their friend Mistress Quickly are much too savvy to fall into that trap. Especially when portrayed with such intelligence and wit as Natália Tuznik brings to the role of Alice. Looking smashing in her Dior-inspired ‘New Look’ gowns, the soprano fills out the role’s opportunities for soaring lines and crisply delivers its quick patter. As Meg, mezzo-soprano Melinda Heiter lended a lovely lyric sound to her many ensemble moments.
Scene from Hungarian State Opera’s Falstaff. Photo: Valter Berecz/Hungarian State Opera
Dame Quickly is a gift of a role and Erika Gál certainly grabbed all it has to offer. When she visits Falstaff to set up his double tryst with Alice and Meg, her unabashed vamping made one wonder why the knight didn’t just seduce her on the spot. The role is probably intended though, for a voice that sits lower than Gál’s. She was a fantastic Ježibaba in the company’s new Rusalka earlier this year which suited her high mezzo like a glove. Here, she had to negotiate some awkward register shifts that didn’t work to her best vocal advantage.
Eszter Zemlényi and Gyula Rab were ideally cast as the young lovers, Nannetta and Fenton. She floated gossamer tone in her offstage love calls to Fenton, and enchanted with a gorgeous “Sul fil d’um soffio etesio,” as she calls to the fairies, elves and goblins who will aid in Falstaff’s ultimate undoing. Rab’s light but penetrating tenor is perfectly matched to this gift of a lyric role.
As Ford, baritone Malik Azat was amusingly decked out in a kilt and Scottish tam for his visit to Falstaff in disguise as Signor Fontana. He was convincing as the jealous husband who, like Falstaff, gets his own comeuppance when tricked into marrying his daughter Nannetta to Fenton, of whom he disapproves. Azik handled Ford’s high-lying, dramatic lines well but lacked the extra bit of ping that would have projected his sound effectively at the climax of his big aria.
Scene from Hungarian State Opera’s Falstaff. Photo: Valter Berecz/Hungarian State Opera
The chorus has to wait a long time for their big moment near the opera’s close, but impressed with the precision of their tricky ghostly interjections and effective synchronized movements as their cloaked and horned figures darted and jabbed at the prone Falstaff. Conductor Domonkos Héja led a tight ensemble both onstage and in the pit. This is one of Verdi’s most sophisticated scores with its quicksilver pace and multiple ensembles. The Hungarian State Opera Orchestra finessed the final layer of magic on this very satisfying revival.
Hungarian State Opera’s Falstaff continues its run until Dec. 5
