Glyndebourne On Tour 2009
Falstaff by Giuseppe Verdi
A new production from the 2009 Festival
The 2009 Festival production was supported by Hamish and Sophie Forsyth
Sung in Italian with English supertitles.
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Having sounded all the shrieks and groans of the human heart, to finish with a mighty burst of laughter – that will astonish the world!’ So wrote Verdi to his librettist, Arrigo Boito, just before embarking upon what he knew would be his final opera. And the result has gone on astonishing the world ever since, not least that such a mercurial, nimble-footed and profusely tuneful portrait of Shakespeare’s Fat Knight should have flowed from the pen of a man then nearing 80.
Glyndebourne’s new production of Falstaff is directed by Richard Jones. Jonathan Veira, a much-loved Glyndebourne artist for over 20 years, leads the cast in the larger-than-life role of the corpulent Sir John, whose profligate presence both outrages and inspires the leaner, meaner citizens of Windsor. Here making his UK opera debut, young American conductor James Gaffigan was a first prize-winner at the 2004 Georg Solti International Conducting Competition; currently Associate Conductor of the San Francisco Symphony, he was recently praised in the US press as ‘a conductor of real promise, combining muscular energy with unabashed lyricism’.
The performance lasts approximately 2 hours and 45 minutes including a 20 minute interval
Edition A.G. Wien
Performance schedule
* = Pre-performance talk available. Go to venue information for details.
Creative Team
Conductor James Gaffigan/Thomas Blunt
Director Richard Jones
Revival Director Sarah Fahie
Designer Ultz
Lighting Designer Mimi Jordan Sherin
Movement Director Linda Dobell
Cast includes
Falstaff Jonathan Veira
Alice Ford Jessica Muirhead
Ford Guido Loconsolo
Mistress Quickly Kathleen Wilkinson
Fenton Nicholas Phan
Nannetta Elena Tsallagova
Meg Page Rachael Lloyd
Glyndebourne on Tour Orchestra
The Glyndebourne Chorus