The Prague Post
October 10th, 2008
Endowment Fund     Business Listings ONLINE      Reservations      Classifieds    Subscriptions
Hotel Prague Centre
Prague Real Estate

Home » Archives » Night & Day

Until the fat man sings

Verdi's vibrant music saves the National Theater's Falstaff
Stage Review | Search restaurants | Archives

By Frank Kuznik
Staff Writer, The Prague Post
May 28th, 2008 issue

Photo by Jaroslav Prokop
The rotund fop (Ivan Kusnjer) gets a scolding from Mistress Quickly (Yvona Škvárová).
enlarge
Falstaff


When: Wednesday, June 4, at 7
Where: National Theater
Tickets: 80-900 Kč, available at National Theater box offices
Sung in Italian, with Czech and English titles

A thin and generally dispiriting opera season strikes an upbeat note as it draws to a close with Falstaff, Verdi’s comic opera treatment of Shakespeare’s Merry Wives of Windsor. While this production won’t go into the pantheon of the National Theater’s greatest hits, Falstaff is an inventive and charming work that makes for a great light evening’s entertainment.
The plot was lifted wholesale by librettest Arrigo Boito from Merry Wives, with an occasional speech or scene cribbed from Henry IV. Hard-up for money and some fun, the title character sets about wooing two wealthy married women, who quickly discover what he’s up to. Most of the opera is concerned with the pranks they play in revenge, along with a love story involving two minor characters that helps keep the narrative moving and creates some opportunities for romantic arias.
From the time of the opera’s premiere at La Scala in February 1893, almost every commentator has marveled at the energy, wit and pace of the music, written when Verdi was nearly 80 years old. It’s all true; the brisk, lively score does not sound like it was composed by an aging maestro. What’s even more impressive, however, is the structure and style of the score, which is much closer to what Wagner called “music drama” than traditional Romantic opera. Verdi saves his few showcase moments mostly for the ensemble pieces, which are stunning, running up to nine and 10 voices at a time.
As usual, the National Theater has created a perplexing set, this time a giant birdcage that offers … well, a good reason for the female leads to make their entrances swinging on canary-style perches. Otherwise, it’s difficult to decipher the avian setting, other than perhaps to suggest lightweight characters flitting about. The good news is that the self-contained cage keeps set changes to minimum, so there’s only one intermission. Memo to the stage crew: Remove the loose bowling balls during the break, before some performer trips on one or kicks it into the orchestra pit, as nearly happened at the May 7 premiere.
Though this is a Prague production, it is largely the work of Slovaks — director (and noted actor) Martin Huba, conductor Peter Feranec, set designer Jozef Ciller and costume designer Milan Čorba. That may be why it lacks a certain snap. Good comedy is hard to do, requiring split-second timing and a smart, breezy style that this production clearly aspires to, but never quite reaches. For all their other gifts — which were amply on display in performances by a Slovak National Theater troupe in Prague earlier this year — frothy romantic comedy does not seem to be the Slovaks’ metier.
The cast doesn’t quite have the heft to pull off this piece, either. Ivan Kusnjer, a durable baritone and National Theater company regular, is a well-regarded singer and actor, but not the alternately commanding and buffoonish figure that Falstaff needs to be. The rest of the cast was competent but hardly dazzling on opening night, with two notable exceptions. House regular Yvona Škvárová nearly stole the show with her portrayal of Mistress Quickly, and recent Prague Conservatory graduate Kateřina Kněžiková reaffirmed that she is a talent to watch.
Still, these flaws can’t dim the brilliance of the work itself, which is so filled with clever musical turns and flourishes that the score alone is worth the price of admission. The music pops like champagne to start each scene, and offers a witty running commentary; at one of Falstaff’s sillier moments in the opera, the horns literally laugh at him. The Shakespearean banter is also wickedly funny. “A mountain of lard” is one of the kinder insults directed at Falstaff, and in one character’s tirade near the end of the first half, he manages to insult Dutch, Germans and Turks all in the space of about 30 seconds.
And while the Slovaks may lack comic finesse, they certainly know their drinking humor. The second half starts with Falstaff in pain and misery — until he has a drink. His sudden, miraculous recovery will be familiar to anyone who’s ever indulged the hair-of-the-dog cure for a hangover.
The season may yet end on a positive note, with the State Opera’s Flying Dutchman opening this week. Either way, Falstaff offers some welcome late-season comic relief.

Frank Kuznik can be reached at fkuznik@praguepost.com


Other articles in Night & Day (28/05/2008):

Browse the Current Issue

If you enjoyed this article, why don't you subscribe to the print version!
We accept secure online transactions provided by PayPal and Moneybookers

Be the first to add a comment!


Full Name: *
City: *
E-mail: **
This comment can be published in the print version of The Prague Post
Enter the text on the right:
 visual captcha
Comment: *
* Required field. In order to be approved for display, comments must have a first and last name and a city.
** E-mails are required and will only be used for internal purposes.

Most visited in Business Listings

Provokator
Hotel booking
The Prague Post Online contains a selection of articles that have been printed in
The Prague Post, a weekly newspaper published in the Czech Republic.
To subscribe to the print paper, click here.
Unauthorized reproduction is strictly prohibited.