Orchestre de L'Opera Royal de Wallonie, Luca Salsi, Ruggero Raimondi, Paolo Arrivabeni - Verdi: Falstaff (Live) (2021) [Hi-Res]

• Title: Verdi: Falstaff (Live)
  
• Year Of Release: 2021
  
• Label: Dynamic
  
• Genre: Classical
  
• Quality: flac lossless / flac 24bits - 48.0kHz +Booklet
  
• Total Time: 02:00:19
  
• Total Size: 615 mb / 1.25 gb
  
• WebSite: Album Preview
  

Tracklist

01. Falstaff, Act I Pt. 1: Falstaff! (Live)
02. Falstaff, Act I Pt. 1: Sei polli, sei scellini (Live)
03. Falstaff, Act I Pt. 1: Ma è tempo d'assottigliar l'ingegno (Live)
04. Falstaff, Act I Pt. 1: L'onore! Ladri! (Live)
05. Falstaff, Act I Pt. 2: Alice (Live)
06. Falstaff, Act I Pt. 2: Fulgida Alice! Amor t'offro (Live)
07. Falstaff, Act I Pt. 2: Mostro! (Live)
08. Falstaff, Act I Pt. 2: Pst, pst, Nannetta! (Live)
09. Falstaff, Act I Pt. 2: Falstaff m'ha canzonata (Live)
10. Falstaff, Act I Pt. 2: Udrai quant'egli sfoggia (Live)
11. Falstaff, Act I Pt. 2: Messer Ford, un infortunio marital (Live)
12. Falstaff, Act I Pt. 2: Qui più non si vagoli (Live)
13. Falstaff, Act II Pt. 1: Siam pentiti e contriti (Live)
14. Falstaff, Act II Pt. 1: Alice è mia! Va, vecchio John (Live)
15. Falstaff, Act II Pt. 1: Signore, v'assista il cielo! (Live)
16. Falstaff, Act II Pt. 1: C'è a Windsor, una dama (Live)
17. Falstaff, Act II Pt. 1: È sogno o realtà? (Live)
18. Falstaff, Act II Pt. 1: Eccomi qua. Son pronto (Live)
19. Falstaff, Act II Pt. 2: Presenteremo un bill (Live)
20. Falstaff, Act II Pt. 2: Giunta all'Albergo della Giarrettiera (Live)
21. Falstaff, Act II Pt. 2: Gaie comari di Windsor (Live)
22. Falstaff, Act II Pt. 2: Alfin t'ho colto, raggiante fior (Live)
23. Falstaff, Act II Pt. 2: Quando'ero paggio del duca di Norfolk (Live)
24. Falstaff, Act II Pt. 2: Signora Alice! (Live)
25. Falstaff, Act II Pt. 2: Vien qua (Live)
26. Falstaff, Act II Pt. 2: Al ladro! (Live)
27. Falstaff, Act II Pt. 2: C'è. C'è. Se t'agguanto! (Live)
28. Falstaff, Act II Pt. 2: Non è lui! (Live)
29. Falstaff, Act III Pt. 1: Ehi taverniere! (Live)
30. Falstaff, Act III Pt. 1: Mettiamo un po' di vino (Live)
31. Falstaff, Act III Pt. 1: Reverenza. La bella Alice (Live)
32. Falstaff, Act III Pt. 1: Quando il rintocco della mezzanotte (Live)
33. Falstaff, Act III Pt. 1: Brava! Quelle corna (Live)
34. Falstaff, Act III Pt. 1: Non dubitar, tu sposerai mia figlia (Live)
35. Falstaff, Act III Pt. 2: Dal labbro il canto estasiato vola (Live)
36. Falstaff, Act III Pt. 2: Una, due, tre, quattro, cinque, sei, sette botte (Live)
37. Falstaff, Act III Pt. 2: Ninfe! Elfi! Silfi! (Live)
38. Falstaff, Act III Pt. 2: Sul fil d'un soffio etesio (Live)
39. Falstaff, Act III Pt. 2: Alto là! (Live)
40. Falstaff, Act III Pt. 2: Nitro! Catrame e solfo! (Live)
41. Falstaff, Act III Pt. 2: Già s'avanza la coppia degli sposi (Live)
42. Falstaff, Act III Pt. 2: Tutto nel mondo è burla (Live)

The curtain rises and we are…nowhere, but it’s very light and bright. Scenery and costumes are black, white, silver, and gold, and variations within those hues; there are many supernumeraries in white wearing long, conical hats (à la commedia dell’arte); an abstract 3-D backdrop represents brilliant shattered light–perhaps a golden/silver sunburst–that changes shape and color and is used by the opera’s characters to climb upon and peer out from; the costumes for the women, all the same, are lavish evening gowns and mammoth hats similar to those in Fellini’s Juliet of the Spirits; video projections alter mood and space (huge, falling leaves of many colors; intangible shapes); and the river in Act 3 is suggested by billowing blue fabric, controlled by men on either side of the stage. In the opening scene the main character is carried in on an altar of white bottles, and the final scene has hints of a Black Sabbath and is peopled by nuns. Furthermore, the main character is thin. Can you guess the opera?

Normally, in either Shakespeare or Verdi, the character of Falstaff is fat, the locale is agrarian upper middle class, the world very specific. Here it is a phantasmagoria, a fantastic place without bounds, almost constantly changing but never defined. When Falstaff, fresh from the billowing drapes of the Thames, sings “Eh, taverniere! Un bicchiere di vin caldo!”, not only is there no “taverniere”, neither is there a tavern or vin caldo. The stage is empty. If you don’t know what the opera is about, you’re lost. (There is, happily, a laundry basket in Act 2, but no screen for the lovers.)

The direction, designs, costumes, and lighting are by Stefano Poda and he is brimming with visual ideas, but he refuses to tell a story–at least to a novice, the action makes almost no sense without places. He does not offend as many Regietheater directors do, but he definitely turns this opera into something else: perhaps a fairy tale?

The production certainly is beautiful enough–a brilliant light-show peopled by not only our usual characters but extras–acrobats, an omnipresent angel, dancers, onlookers. It is remarkably atmospheric, but atmospheric of what? Moreover, a generic foolish man will never take the place of Sir John and neither will a thin one (who hardly requires a “crane” to lift him up, as he demands in the Windsor Forest Scene); the Fat Knight is bloated with more than food. When he announces in the final scene that it is his wit that causes others to be witty, all of the characters freeze in place for a moment. This must be meaningful.

Ruggero Raimondi, 68 years old, sounds dryish and a bit out of breath as Falstaff. Granted, the portrayal is as much of a sad sack as of a delusional, conceited, arrogant Knight, and he imbues every word and move with intelligence–but he looks like a regular guy who has become an exhausted mess, and a mess in jodhpurs, at that. He remains a remarkable artist and in a conventional production, his vocal shortcomings might have been covered up by (or incorporated into) the character we know as Falstaff.

The others in the cast are close to spectacular; indeed, this is musically one of the most enchanting Falstaffs I’ve ever encountered. Conductor Paolo Arrivabeni leads a mellow performance–perhaps this is the key, but I’m still not certain where the lock is being kept–with great emphasis on the woodwinds and less on the brass. This performance rarely makes a great deal of noise, not even in the usually alarm-sounding opening chords. Ensemble is precise and inner voices always clear: he leads as if it were Renaissance polyphony, but more charming.

Tiberius Simu and Sabina Puertolas are the loveliest Fenton and Nanetta imaginable, singing with endless breath and youthful tone, and Liliana Mattei as Meg manages not to get lost as most Megs do; her voice has a sheen that stands out. Virginia Tola’s Alice is a born leader–sure of herself, sassy, classy, and singing with impeccable pitch, including those high Cs reached by climbing staccatos. Cinzia De Mota sings Mistress Quickly in the Barbieri/Simionato mode, but with less overt mock-grandeur–she comes across as servile and haughty at once. Luca Salsi’s Ford may not be as rich in voice as Robert Merrill’s (for Solti on Decca) but it is very expressive and his mood changes are fun and easy to read. The others are all vivid.

So what to say? This looks beautiful and sounds exactly like Falstaff, but we’re lost in some sort of alternate universe. Raimondi is in better voice on TDK under Mehta, but that production is a pretentious mess of social commentary. Giulini’s with Bruson in the title role is not funny; Terfel at Covent Garden is almost lost in a production that turns the opera into an exploding children’s paintbox. The Met’s under James Levine (on DG) is the best bet. This one is stunning, but it’s up to you to decide whether bizarre imagery will equal the Falstaff of your dreams.

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Year 2021 | Classical | FLAC / APE | HD & Vinyl

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