Germany Verdi, Falstaff: Soloists, Chor der Hamburgischen Staatsoper, Philharmonishces Staatsorchester Hamburg / Finnegan Downie Dear (conductor). Staatsoper Hamburg, 6.4.2025. (SRT)
This Falstaff might be appearing as part of the Hamburg Staatsoper’s ‘Italian Opera Weeks’, but it might also have had a ‘Best of British’ label slapped on it when you consider who was involved. Christopher Purves, Sir Simon Keenlyside, Danielle de Niese (surely, as the chatelaine of Glyndebourne, an honorary Brit) and Olivia Warburton all sounded great on the stage, while Finnegan Downie Dear showed the surest of batons in the pit. And how appropriate to have them all there for this most British of European operas.
Furthermore, Calixto Bieito seems to have laid aside his enfant terrible label for his 2020 production, which is remarkably well behaved by his standards, though that doesn’t mean it makes sense. It is set around a remarkably naturalistic doll’s house of a Boar’s Head Tavern, complete with happy hour deals on beer and a Sunday Carvery offer. The pub is slowly deconstructed throughout the show until there is just an empty stage for the Windsor Forest scene: whether that is representative of something bigger is anyone’s guess. Falstaff appears to be both the landlord and the resident of the inn, which only just fits with his need to pay the bill, and he scrambles an egg for Mistress Quickly while watching a cookery programme on the bar’s TV. He isn’t dumped in the Thames, and there is no oak tree for the final scene, but when you consider some of the other scene pictures that Bieito has put on the stage it feels like the audience got off lightly.
The production certainly struck it lucky with this cast, whether thanks to Bieito’s direction or to the sheer good chemistry of the singers. Christopher Purves is terrific in the title role. He is in vigorous, agile voice, and sings in a way that seems to deny any thought of the character being fat or old. Instead this Falstaff could still be in his prime, and Purves sings and acts him with tremendous energy. The only problem with having Simon Keenlyside as Ford is that he very nearly upstages Purves in their Act II scene, so punchy and energetic is his singing, culminating in a terrific jealousy aria. Danielle de Niese gives the slight impression of letting it all happen without it bothering her too much, and she is shown up by the intelligent involvement of those around her. However, their standard is very high considering Anna Kissjudit’s throaty Mistress Quickly and Kady Evanyshyn’s spry Meg. Seungwoo Simon Kim and Olivia Warburton are knockouts as the young lovers, Fenton and Nannetta: it is a nice touch having them start the opera in school uniform and ending it taking a pregnancy test. (It’s positive!)
Conductor Finnegan Downie Dear has a rock solid hold on what comes out of the pit, and the orchestra play for him with razor sharp precision and a joy in the ensemble. In short, this is a hit. The only melancholy thought is that you have to go to Germany to hear such a combination of British artists, and that the arts funding situation in the UK is currently so dire that you have little prospect of seeing them there any time soon.
Performances continue until 10 April.
Simon Thompson
Production:
Director – Calixto Bieito
Set designer – Susanne Gschwender
ostume designer – Anja Rabes
Dramaturgy – Bettina Auer
Lighting designer – Michael Bauer
Chorus director – Christian Günther
Cast:
Falstaff – Christopher Purves
Ford – Simon Keenlyside
Fenton – Seungwoo Simon Kim
Dr Cajus – Jürgen Sacher
Alice – Danielle de Niese
Nannetta – Olivia Warburton
Mistress Quickly – Anna Kissjudit
Meg – Kady Evanyshyn