opera notebook
some operas I have seen on videoGiuseppe Verdi, Falstaff (1893)
Opéra de Lille, 2023
- Conductor: Antonello Allemandi
- Director: Denis Podalydès
- Set Designer: Éric Ruf
- Falstaff: Tassis Christoyannis
- Alice: Gabrielle Philiponet
Denis Podalydès' production takes place on Éric Ruf's set, a dismally-lit succession of decaying hospital spaces. The characters dress as 20th-century patients and medical staff, and the action that Podalydès provides has no explicable relation to the story of the opera. Oddly enough, at the same time, that action is blocked in choreography to the music exceptionally well; this is one of the best opera productions I've seen in terms of how it's punctuated by its stage movement. The musical quality is consistently good.