# People Who Don't Adore Verdi's Greatest Opera



## Xavier (Jun 7, 2012)

This morning an opera friend forwarded this note to me:



> Although one can always acquire a taste, sometimes you really have to work hard for it. So here goes my confession: I don't like *Falstaff*. I know all the reasons why I should, but the ear can be deaf to reasoning in matters like that. With that in mind, considering the good opinion friends of good taste have on this season's Metropolitan Opera Falstaff, I have bought a ticket on the level of price I reserve to the operas I like. Well, it seems I am condemned not to like it - at least in this life.
> 
> I acknowledge the ingeniousness and creativity, but the music does not really pluck any strings IN MY HEART. Too much technical ensemble work and so many abrupt/brash passages. To take one example: That opening in Act 1 (The Garter Inn) is so bangy and clattery and shouty and then when the women come in (Garden Scene) with all that pecking at notes and the melody broken into shards rather than sweeping Verdian expansiveness.
> 
> ...




Question:

Does she have plenty of company? Is _Falstaff_ still generally disliked by a majority of operagoers?


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## moody (Nov 5, 2011)

Xavier said:


> This morning an opera friend forwarded this note to me:
> 
> [/font][/size]
> 
> ...


No,it's hugely popular and highly accomplished and amusing.


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## ComposerOfAvantGarde (Dec 2, 2011)

I don't like Verdi very much in general. Other opera composers I just adore, but I've never like Verdi. He is very popular though and I can't say he isn't. Other people certainly would have the same opinion as the opera friend you mention, and other people would have their own opinion. No unusual phenomenon.


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## Eschbeg (Jul 25, 2012)

I certainly don't dislike it, though it's not my favorite Verdi opera.


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## deggial (Jan 20, 2013)

I listened to it once and it went right over my head but I can't say this fact plunged me into any sort of existential debate.


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## Pip (Aug 16, 2013)

from 1881 and the success of the re-worked Simon Boccanegra, the elderly Verdi entered into a partnership that would triumph over all that he has previously composed. The partnership was with Arrigo Boito and the reason was Shakespeare, which would produce Otello in 1887 and Falstaff in 1893( at the age of 80).
The problem that most find with Falstaff is that they are disappointed at no having great arias and cabalettas that Verdi produced so easily in his earlier works.
The distance between the works Rigoletto and Falstaff is even greater, in many ways as the distance between Rienzi and Tristan.
I find the best way to approach Falstaff is from the Merry Wives of Windsor angle. Looking at the scenes of the play that Boito transposed to an opera libretto, maintaining the overall structure, left Verdi with the opportunity to compose for his own sake and not for his public/publishers. It is as far away from the Eroica as the Ninth is, It is the final offering of a composer that has
developed and evolved through many stages and through the influence of Wagner has, with Otello as well, created music theatre in Italian opera equally as exciting and valid as his great german colleague.
It is however, not to everyone's taste as is the case with Meistersinger or Tristan.
And it has nothing to do with "Hype" - I hate that word. The opera has been a success since it's first performance. It does not need to be "hyped" by anyone.
With the advocacy of Toscanini and Karajan, to name just two of it's greatest exponents, it has continued to succeed in every
opera house where it has been played. It has overcome many stupid/trashy and just misconceived productions and still it won't go away. It is part of our musical heritage and long may it remain so.
Maybe it will come to you later in life, or , if you are there already, then it has passed you by, and as I said in another post, it really is OK not to like something.


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## Bellinilover (Jul 24, 2013)

As I wrote last week in another thread, I do like _Falstaff_, it's just not one of my favorite Verdi operas. My favorite parts of _Falstaff_ are the opening scene, the first Falstaff/Mistress Quickly duet, the Ford/Falstaff duet, "Quando ero paggio," and the ending of Act II, with those big trumpet flourishes. On the whole, though, I find the music a bit hard to "understand" and to follow; for some reason I find _Otello_ more accessible musically and prefer it to _Falstaff_. I would also have to say that of all the Verdi arias for baritone that I'm aware of, Ford's Monolgue is probably my least favorite.


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## StlukesguildOhio (Dec 25, 2006)

Is it possible that _Falstaff_ simply isn't Verdi's "greatest" opera?


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## Xavier (Jun 7, 2012)

StlukesguildOhio said:


> Is it possible that _Falstaff_ simply isn't Verdi's "greatest" opera?


Not really.

_Falstaff_ is now regarded as his finest and most sophisticated work.

I was also pleasantly surprised to read that Richard Strauss considered it... _"one of the greatest masterworks of all time"_


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## PetrB (Feb 28, 2012)

It seems you are forever doomed to a lifetime of being surrounded by Philistines, even when at the opera house.


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## Couchie (Dec 9, 2010)

The appeal of Verdi remains mostly a mystery to me.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

I have never been tempted to see it. It may be a good theater piece, but I don't enjoy listening to it like I would Aida or Ballo.


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## ComposerOfAvantGarde (Dec 2, 2011)

Xavier said:


> Not really.
> 
> _Falstaff_ is now regarded as his finest and most sophisticated work.
> 
> I was also pleasantly surprised to read that Richard Strauss considered it... _"one of the greatest masterworks of all time"_


..............just because some people like it and say "it's his greatest" does not make it fact...............
Xavier, you seem to be falling for "if you tell a lie often enough, it becomes fact," but in this case instead of a "lie" it is an opinion, which by definition is _not fact at all._


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

I'm also very suspicious of the word "sophisticated". Seems to me yet another way of claiming superiority over those who might not share your opinion of this work. Which I enjoy, just not as much as I adore Don Carlos and Otello.


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## Garlic (May 3, 2013)

Is Falstaff likely to convince someone who doesn't much like other Verdi operas (La Traviata, Nabucco, Aida)?


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## moody (Nov 5, 2011)

Falstaff is an opera that really should be seen rather than just listened to.
The artist performing the title roll is of huge importance,I saw Geraint Evans in the part three times and his presence on the stage was overwhelming.
Another excellent performer was Fischer-Dieskau but unfortunately his voice was neither "fat" enough, neither was it Italian enough.


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## quack (Oct 13, 2011)

> but the music does not really pluck any strings IN MY HEART.


Tragedy is always more universal than comedy because we laugh at different things but dying hits us all. Comedy plucks us in places other than the heart.

Falstaff may well be his best work but it is difficult to see it beating his other tragic tales that rend the heart in popular appeal. Just as lists of greatest movies or greatest books aren't often topped by comedies, comic opera gets short changed in the greatest stakes.

The music doesn't really have the same kind of sparkle of a Rossini or Mozart comedy, it is more deadpan perhaps, that might make it more sophisticated but it doesn't follow that it will be more popular.


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## DarkAngel (Aug 11, 2010)

One of my least favorite Verdi operas........

Gone are the exciting dramatic arias with cabeletta and the memorable orchestral sections that go with them.* Falstaff is better to be watched for the subtle comedy aspects than listened to on CD* without the excitement or drama of his previous works, some call this progress others (like me) yearn for the old Verdi style

For listening pleasure I would rather listen to his exciting "failed" first comedy Un Giorno di Regno than the "sophistcated" Falstaff


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## JCarmel (Feb 3, 2013)

I'm with Natalie on this one...I prefer 'Otello' and 'Don Carlos' more...but I just don't go for any of this stuff about having to be impressed with music for any other reason that it appeals to _you_! People love to sort stuff into categories,,,be it people (their personalities) or pieces of music but I can't be bothered with any of that. I like it or I don't & that's enough for me.


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## LouisMasterMusic (Aug 28, 2013)

Verdi's Falstaff is a difficult opera, in my opinion.


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## Itullian (Aug 27, 2011)

I guess I'm odd man out on this. I happen to love Falstaff and all of its intricate fleeting melodies. Its the Verdi opera I listen to most often now as I have tired
of his others.
And I also think it is better listened to than seen, but that's because I love its music.
I'm so glad he didn't write another Aida or Otello which I never listen to any more.
And my favorite recordings are Karajan's EMI and Giulini's which is a little more serious.
Viva Falstaff!!!


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## Aramis (Mar 1, 2009)

Xavier said:


> _Falstaff_ is now regarded as his finest and most sophisticated work.


The thing is that while _Falstaff_ may be truely Verdi's best score, it's far from being his best music. Also, the woman from the OP quote is perfectly capable of pointing out what she doesn't like about _Falstaff_ so there is no reason to assume she doesn't "understand", more like she understands the nature of this music and doesn't find it appealing. What's to understand in comic opera anyway? If it doesn't amuse you - that's it, it would be most ridiculous to break down, crying "this comedy doesn't make me laugh, I lack understanding of this profound and sophisticated humour!". You may not understand _Tristan und Isolde_ but if fat geezer in laundry chest doesn't attract you more than Otello or Violetta there is no nothing to feel guilty about, even if his adventures are described with adventurous music (is it THAT adventurous though, not in the context of Verdi alone but in the context of all classical music from last decade of XIXth century?).


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## Don Fatale (Aug 31, 2009)

I remember a BBC culture review show that had the writer Tony Parsons (evidently an opera novice/agnostic) on the panel to review Covent Garden's Falstaff. Rather than review the performance and production he criticized the opera as being tuneless and generally not very good. At the time I recall shouting at the TV that he was a fool. However his review summed up what the unprepared listener will likely experience.

So it isn't an obvious hit or a good choice for a newbie, but for many opera fans on their journey through the repertoire this is the ultimate destination alongside that other flawed work - Tristan und Isolde.


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

DarkAngel said:


> One of my least favorite Verdi operas........
> 
> Gone are the exciting dramatic arias with cabeletta and the memorable orchestral sections that go with them.* Falstaff is better to be watched for the subtle comedy aspects than listened to on CD* without the excitement or drama of his previous works, some call this progress others (like me) yearn for the old Verdi style


With Verdi being my favourite composer, I hate to admit that any one of his operas might not be as fabulous as all the others, but in my opinion Falstaff is better watched lived in the house. 



DarkAngel said:


> For listening pleasure I would rather listen to his exciting "failed" first comedy Un Giorno di Regno than the "sophisticated" Falstaff


I love _Un Giorno di Regno_ & remember my affection for this being sneered at by some self-styled opera expert.


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## Itullian (Aug 27, 2011)

I love Un Giorno di Regno too.


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## Guest (Sep 11, 2013)

Xavier said:


> This morning an opera friend forwarded this note to me:
> 
> [/font][/size]
> 
> ...


As this was apparently written in 2005, perhaps "your friend" has got over it by now.

http://ihearvoices.wordpress.com/2005/10/19/verdis-falstaff-metropolitan-opera-house-19-10-2005/

Why are you recycling old stuff as new?


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## moody (Nov 5, 2011)

sospiro said:


> With Verdi being my favourite composer, I hate to admit that any one of his operas might not be as fabulous as all the others, but in my opinion Falstaff is better watched lived in the house.
> 
> I love _Un Giorno di Regno_ & remember my affection for this being sneered at by some self-styled opera expert.


I wish I had room for "Falstaff" in my house you must be rich,we should get together.


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## Revenant (Aug 27, 2013)

MacLeod said:


> As this was apparently written in 2005, perhaps "your friend" has got over it by now.
> 
> http://ihearvoices.wordpress.com/2005/10/19/verdis-falstaff-metropolitan-opera-house-19-10-2005/
> 
> Why are you recycling old stuff as new?


Well, it seems that the blogger liked a more recent performance appreciably more last month.

http://ihearvoices.wordpress.com/


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## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

. Simply is not just Verdi's greatest opera but also one of greatest operas ever written. It does not lack tunes - it is full of them. But they are subtlety interwoven into the texture of general riot and fun. Every bar sparkles. We believe that Verdi wrote it for his own amusement but he seems to have created a stunning masterpiece. I would agree it needs to be seen in theatre but it is a joy on CD. Karajan and Toscanini are superb but the former has the incomparable Gobbi and a superb cast. Fantastic!


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

moody said:


> I wish I had room for "Falstaff" in my house you must be rich,we should get together.


*live* not *lived* haha ...........................................


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## JCarmel (Feb 3, 2013)

Having just indulged in a Falstaffian-sized piece of chocolate cake....I'd better have a listen to the opera!


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## Celloman (Sep 30, 2006)

I listened to Falstaff for the first time a few months ago, and I was blown away. That first act, especially, moves like quicksilver. I'm going to listen to it again pretty soon. But I can definitely see why the critics have such a high regard for it.

La Traviata is still my favorite, though. : P


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## moody (Nov 5, 2011)

A problem here is that many tend to listen to "bleeding chunks" of opera and the top arias, I'm sure we can all be guilty of this,but not really with "Falstaff "
I always try the "Honour Monologue " first to test the protagonist, I believe it shows immediately what I'm in for.
Perhaps George Martin in his "Verdi, His Music, Life and Times" explains the situation best.

In "Falstaff" there are not only almost no arias,there are almost no tunes. There are also no recitatives......The musical result is an almost continuous melodic line broken only rarely for ensembles,such as when the merry wives chatter together.
Where Wagner unfolds "Meistersinger" slowly and luxuriantly,with every detail examined and revealed, Verdi shimmers or dances his past the audience's eye and ear . He startles its imagination with almost every note and yet never stops to reveal all that has been suggested......There are no moments of repose in which the music and the audience can catch its breath.
.......A majority of musicians,critics and professional opera-goers declare that, along with "Otello", it is his best. Yet the casual opera-goer has seldom seen the opera and outside Italy many persons,who know perfectly well that Verdi composed "Aida", have never heard of "Falstaff".


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