# I Need Help With Falstaff and Gianni Schicchi



## LouisMasterMusic (Aug 28, 2013)

Hey there,

I own Verdi's Falstaff on DVD from the Metropolitan Opera with Paul Plishka in the title role, and also from the Royal Opera House with Bryn Terfel in the title role. I've had a bit of trouble recently with it. I've avoided it simply because I have difficulty getting used to the way the tunes go by so quickly; I'm more used to the middle-period Verdi operas. 

I also have trouble with Puccini's Gianni Schicchi which I own on CD. Apart from "Firenze e come un albero fiorto" and "O Mio Babbino Caro", for me, it has the same issues as Verdi's Falstaff. I'm more used to La Boheme, Tosca, Madama Butterfly, and Turandot, for example. If anyone could provide me with how to go about enjoying Falstaff and Gianni Schicchi more, I'd be grateful, even if it's just reading the story or watching a video about it.


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## Pip (Aug 16, 2013)

You hit the nail on the head. Read the story/libretto to really get into it.
Schicchi is a good comedy and it is a pity that you can't get hold of the old TV production with Zero Mostel hamming his way though it with great gusto. Treat it like the comedy it is. Once you understand why Schicchi acts the way he does, then it all falls into place. It can be a fun 60 minutes.
As for Falstaff, think Merrie Wives of Windsor and not Henry IV and V. It is also a great comedy, but much more layered.
You have the Zeffirelli production with Pliska who is not bad but not great, but it is a great production.
The Covent Garden DVD with Terfel is a nonsense of a production and Haitink conducts it as if it was Greek tragedy. Pity because the cast was quite good.
Falstaff stands or falls with the conductor and it should go like a good glass of bubbly. Toscanini or Karajan or MUTI are still the best at it.
If it is a DVD you want then get the Salzburg Festival Karajan version on Sony - it is very good indeed. BUT, search out the TDK DVD of the recreation of the 1913 La Scala production conducted by Muti with a cast that is as good as it gets. Old fashioned production, from Verdi's theatre in Bussetto - it is great. This is the Falstaff that I would take to a desert Island.


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## LouisMasterMusic (Aug 28, 2013)

Thanks, but what's the sound like on the Muti production; has it been re-mastered?

I can watch Operatalk or listen to David Timson narrating the story of Falstaff in order to get me more into it. It's much easier than having me read the libretto.

As far as Schicchi goes, I only have it on CD, but I do have a book with the story in it. Tell me how to go about it using those resources, please.


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## Pip (Aug 16, 2013)

Wikipedia has a great article on Schicchi and that should give you a good start, some links as well.
The Falstaff DVD with Muti is from 2001 or so and the sound is excellent. Better than the Covent Garden.
I'm afraid it is like a lot of things in life, but with opera, the more one puts into it the more one gets out of it.


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## Revenant (Aug 27, 2013)

LouisMasterMusic said:


> Thanks, but what's the sound like on the Muti production; has it been re-mastered?
> 
> I can watch Operatalk or listen to David Timson narrating the story of Falstaff in order to get me more into it. It's much easier than having me read the libretto.
> 
> As far as Schicchi goes, I only have it on CD, but I do have a book with the story in it. Tell me how to go about it using those resources, please.


I think Pip meant the 2001 (not 1913) production at Busseto conducted by Muti, with Maestri, Frittoli, Florez, Frontali, Antonacci, etc. So the sound should be fine. This was one of the productions commemorating the centennary of Verdi's death.


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## Pip (Aug 16, 2013)

Revenant said:


> I think Pip meant the 2001 (not 1913) production at Busseto conducted by Muti, with Maestri, Frittoli, Florez, Frontali, Antonacci, etc. So the sound should be fine. This was one of the productions commemorating the centennary of Verdi's death.


Thanks Revenent, I did say " a recreation of the 1913 La Scala production". Which was conducted "then" by Toscanini, but you have clarified it greatly.
It is a great DVD.


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## LouisMasterMusic (Aug 28, 2013)

What do I do after having read the article on Schicchi on Wikipedia?


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## Bellinilover (Jul 24, 2013)

I'm not too familiar with GIANNI SCHICCI, but I just recently saw my second FALSTAFF (at Wolf Trap Summer Opera). In my opinion, FALSTAFF (and probably SCHICCI, too) are ideal works to _see_ -- preferably in intimate productions -- before you listen to them on recordings. That way, you can really see how the music and the humor work together. I specify "intimate productions" because those can give you a "cozy, comedy" feel that is more important, in these operas, than grandeur. Both of the FALSTAFFs I've seen have been in small theaters, and both were great fun.


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## Pip (Aug 16, 2013)

LouisMasterMusic said:


> What do I do after having read the article on Schicchi on Wikipedia?


Bite the bullet and listen to it as a study exercise a couple of times, if it still leaves you cold, then leave it. 
It's OK not to like something.


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## LouisMasterMusic (Aug 28, 2013)

I have a Naxos recording with sleeve notes and libretto. Should I follow the libretto whilst listening, since I may have read the story in another book?


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## Revenant (Aug 27, 2013)

LouisMasterMusic said:


> I have a Naxos recording with sleeve notes and libretto. Should I follow the libretto whilst listening, since I may have read the story in another book?


Well, the hackneyed but amiable phrase pops up here: different strokes for different folks. When I began listening to opera in vinyl there was always a bi-lingual libretto (just words, not music), which I used to follow the action. After that, I knew the opera and had no need to listen to it with the libretto. You might want to try it this way for a couple of operas at least, as it might work for you too.


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## Pamina (Sep 5, 2012)

LouisMasterMusic, I think your key problem with these two operas is the fact that they are a departure from the style you are familiar with. Most of Puccini's and Verdi's operas have a lot of big catchy tunes--set pieces. Both Falstaff and Schicchi are written more in a modern "aria-less" style (with the exception of a few solos in each one). I think you have to appreciate them as the composer trying out a new style. I know exactly what you are talking about. I found these two works harder to "get into" than the middle Verdi operas and most of Puccini's other works. Try to imagine Falstaff more as a play set to music instead of an opera and think of Schicchi more like a 1950's tv sitcom set to music. Maybe that will help. Just be open minded of two familiar composers trying out something new.


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## Itullian (Aug 27, 2011)

IMHO Falstaff and Rigoletto are Verdi's greatest works.
It took me a while, years ago to warm to Falstaff because of its lack of big tunes.
However it is pretty much the only Verdi opera I listen to now.
You have to listen to it differently. Learn the story, yes.
But then, just put the opera on and listen to it one act at a time, like you would
a large vocal work.
Don't listen for anything, just let he music flow by.
Little by little you will warm to its little phrases and subtleties. 
And each time you listen you will pick up on and hear/discover something new.

No comment on Schicchi as I'm not that familiar with it.
Now on to Wagner and Strauss


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## guythegreg (Jun 15, 2012)

When I first heard Falstaff I was really amazed at how wonderful it is - I thought, here's a really new thing musically. It's as though Verdi was just sick of all the encrustation that his tunes get in older style operas and said to himself, now what if instead of taking a theme and developing it and adding this and that and the other and repeating it once or twice for the faint of wit, how about if instead of all that we just have the tune, and then go on to another tune? And Verdi had a million tunes, he never ran short.

Now, I never became addicted to the opera the way I did with Ballo or Norma or Sonnambula or Pirata or any so-called normal opera. But I can't recommend the Gobbi version highly enough - CD only, no video. (von Karajan, Gobbi, Schwarzkopf, Moffo, Merriman, Panerai). 

Sometimes if you just hit the right production everything will click for you. Access is one of the things we struggle with the most, around here! We see everyone else busy enjoying the heck out of something that just makes us go "huh?" and it's frustrating. But if you keep trying this and that eventually it usually makes its way through to your heart. Not always, but usually.


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

Although Verdi is my favourite composer, it took me a while before I liked _Falstaff_. I listened to it & watched it over & over & this paid off. Your perseverance will be rewarded. 

I've got several recordings but these are my favourites:



















Don't know Gianni Schicchi at all so can't help there.


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## Don Fatale (Aug 31, 2009)

The thing about Falstaff is you have to listen very carefully to its main character... which is the _orchestra_. It's like being on an aural roller-coaster - the twists and turns, the crescendos, screeching to a halt, changing direction, the way it punctuates and comments on the story, teasing us with snatched of beautiful melodies.

For orchestration I prefer Toscanini's version, but would be happy to hear of other great recordings.


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## Revenant (Aug 27, 2013)

You nailed it, guythegreg. That Gobbi/von Karajan Falstaff recording is one of the pinnacles of Verdi operas on record.


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## Xavier (Jun 7, 2012)

Revenant said:


> You nailed it, guythegreg. That Gobbi/von Karajan Falstaff recording is one of the pinnacles of Verdi operas on record.


Without a doubt! And here is my second favorite:

http://eil.com/images/main/Verdi+-+Falstaff+-+DOUBLE+LP-535759.jpg


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## LouisMasterMusic (Aug 28, 2013)

Thanks so much. I have an LSO Live recording of Falstaff. According to what you have advised, I should listen to one act at a time. Should I listen to the whole opera in one day? Should I follow the libretto, or just "let the music flow by", to quote what you recommended I do?


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## LouisMasterMusic (Aug 28, 2013)

Itullian suggested that I listen to one act at a time. Should I follow the libretto, and should I listen to the whole opera in one day? Which recording do you suggest, apart from the Gobbi one, and which production of Schicchi should I get?


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## LouisMasterMusic (Aug 28, 2013)

Does the Sir Georg Solti recording (with Sir Geraint Evans in the title role) contain a libretto?


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## Pip (Aug 16, 2013)

The Opera is two hours and 5 minutes. (Solti) and 1 hour and 59 minutes (Karajan)
The first two scenes are 15 to 16 minutes each and comprise Act 1 - they should be heard one after another.
Act two, scene one, which is the pivotal scene in the opera takes 25 minutes.

This should be done together with the previous two scenes. Just around one hour, and you are half way home.

Act 2 scene 2 (the farce) Act 3 scene 1 at the inn and Act 3 at Windsor Great Park, should also be heard together.

I don't know if the Solti still has a libretto, but the Karajan does,(The EMI version - not the cheap out of copyright version) and is the better performance by a mile.


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## Revenant (Aug 27, 2013)

Pip said:


> [...] I don't know if the Solti still has a libretto, but the Karajan does,(The EMI version - not the cheap out of copyright version) and is the better performance by a mile.


Aside from having a beautiful baritone, Gobbi was one of the top opera actors of all time. And this Falstaff recording (along with his Simon Boccanegra also recorded in the mid to late fifties) are among his top four or five performances on record. That's him as Boccanegra in my avatar.


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## LouisMasterMusic (Aug 28, 2013)

Thanks so much, Pip. I have written a word document containing your instructions, and hopefully sometime I will listen to the opera. Who knows, it may even show me the light of this opera again!


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

LouisMasterMusic said:


> Does the Sir Georg Solti recording (with Sir Geraint Evans in the title role) contain a libretto?


The edition which I have (as in the photo I posted) does. I had booked to see _Falstaff_ at ROH & wanted to learn it properly & listened to several versions before I found one which clicked with me. At first I used the 'stick it on the Walkman & let the music/words wash over me' method. Then I sat & listened with the libretto.


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## LouisMasterMusic (Aug 28, 2013)

The green cover on the re-release probably also has libretto. I have Madama Butterfly and Lakme from that series (Decca). Is this a safe assumption?


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

LouisMasterMusic said:


> The green cover on the re-release probably also has libretto. I have Madama Butterfly and Lakme from that series (Decca). Is this a safe assumption?


I don't know. I only know that the Philips one does.


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