Verdi's "Falstaff," the astonishing product of a 79-year-old-composer, is getting a freshly conceptualized treatment from Washington National Opera. Some of the bare-bones physical material comes from a co-production with the Royal Opera and other opera companies, but director Christian R?th has devised something new out of it for this run of performances at the Kennedy Center, the WNO's first "Falstaff" in more than 25 years.
Given the last moments of the work, with its hearty, "the whole world is a jest" message, it's easy to see where R?th's coming from when he sets up his stage-within-a-stage approach. Here, the character of Falstaff is seen adding a fat suit, after passing to a stage manager in contemporary dress the love letters to Alice and Meg that set the comedy on its merry (as in "Wives of Windsor") way.
Gradually, scenic pieces materialize behind the singers, turning quite traditional and solid (if modest in height) for the brilliant Act 2 scene involving Falstaff, a basket of laundry and a very jealous husband. There's also a massive, fun version of Herne's Oak in the final act, before Falstaff loses that fat suit and the stage is left bare again.
Even more fun is the introduction of a Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo-style flock of male dancers in sylph-y ballerina outfits, part of the torture of poor old, delusional, outwitted Falstaff.
Although the director would probably have conjured up something substantially different had he started from scratch, the production, imaginatively lit by Mark McCullough, works in its own breezy way, underlining how foolish we mortals be - on and off the boards.
Saturday's opening night proved a bit short on vocal power (having a lot of open space onstage didn't help the voices project), but there was no shortage of musicality or ensemble tightness.
Alan Opie offered a richly nuanced portrayal of the title role, at once blustery and terribly vulnerable, and he was attuned to every subtlety of text and melodic contour. Although he sounded rough-toned by the last act, his singing invariably hit home.
Tamara Wilson used her warm, firmly supported soprano to great advantage as Alice; this was starry singing. Elizabeth Bishop was a vibrant Meg. Nancy Maultsby brought lots of color to Mistress Quickly's delicious music. Timothy Mix, as Ford, sounded a little tentative at the start, but quickly asserted tonal strength to match his colorful characterization.
