DCist Goes to the Opera: Falstaff
Timothy Mix (Ford) in the Jealousy Aria, Falstaff, Washington National Opera (photo by Karin Cooper)
Alan Opie was drafted on short notice to replace Gordon Hawkins in the title role, who had originally been picked as Ford. Opie won high praise for the role a decade ago, but although he remained humorous enough in his acting, his voice has faded. (Just for comparison, the WNO's last Falstaff, in 1982, featured none other than Thomas Stewart as the fat knight.) Young soprano Tamara Wilson got the job done as Alice Ford, but did not soar when she needed to soar. Elizabeth Bishop was similarly pale as Meg Page, making Nancy Maultsby's Quickly the best part of the wives' quartet. Robin Leggate was clear and cutting as Dr. Caius, and Russian bass and former Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Grigory Soloviov stood out for a robust sound as Pistola on the male side.
As Ford, Timothy Mix acted well but did not have the needed snarl for most of the character's jealous rages, except for the Jealousy Aria, when he was placed at the very front of the stage, with a scrim positioning an enormous pair of horns on his head (image shown above). JiYoung Lee, who has had some success in the roles given her by WNO since her apprenticeship there, was a disappointment as Nannetta, an overactive vibrato souring flat on the part's angelic high notes. As Fenton, former Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Yingxi Zhang was more on the mark, singing with the same sweet ping he had as Pong in last season's Turandot.
JiYoung Lee (Fairy Queen) and drag queen brides in Falstaff, Washington National Opera (photo by Karin Cooper)
The play within a play idea, which Räth claims in his program note was inspired by Verdi's libretto, is more in keeping with the source play, The Merry Wives of Windsor, supposedly written because Queen Elizabeth wanted to see the character of Falstaff, from the plays about Henry IV and Henry V, in love. In fact, not only were the sets gradually assembled, the characters began in modern dress (costume updating by Timm Burrow and Räth) — Bardolph and Pistola as stage hands snacking out of an old pizza box, Falstaff served by a headset-wearing stage manager, the wives as the cast of The View or the local Oprah's Book Club getting even with the men in their lives — and put on their period costumes (designed by Michael Stennett) as part of the theatrical deceit. We even see the fat knight putting on a fat suit to play his part. As a deconstructive modernization of Falstaff this was much more successful than the disastrous Kirov Opera production in 2007.
In the orchestra as on stage, there were fine individual performances — especially the mercurial woodwinds, who had lovely solos all evening long and a mind-whirling performance as the trilling of intoxication that warms Falstaff's belly — but as a whole it was a sloppy ensemble. Some more rehearsal time could have been beneficial, because it is a complicated score that is clearly not in the ensemble's memory. The gestures of Sebastian Lang-Lessing, a young but by no means inexperienced conductor, became more urgent and wild as things drifted apart, especially during the ensembles, but he was unable to rein in his forces. In spite of these drawbacks heard on opening night — the musical quality of this production will hopefully improve — anyone who is not yet familiar with this superb opera is nonetheless encouraged to attend a performance of it. If you are between the ages of 18 and 35, make sure that you join the company's Generation O program to be eligible for reduced-price tickets.
Washington National Opera will present six more performance of Falstaff from this evening (October 12, 7 p.m.) through October 30 (7:30 p.m.), when it should be a distinctive Halloween ticket. Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Micaëla Oeste will get a crack at Nannetta in the last three performances, for which she is probably better suited vocally than Siegfried's Wood Bird.