"an English critic, R A Streatfeild, remarked on how Verdi succeeded: In November Boito took the completed first act to Verdi at Sant'Agata, along with the second act, which was still under construction: ""That act has the devil on its back; and when you touch it, it burns"", Boito complained. They worked on the opera for a week, then Verdi and his wife Giuseppina Strepponi went to Genoa. No more work was done for some time. The writer Russ McDonald observes that a letter from Boito to Verdi touches on the musical techniques used in the opera – he wrote"
"The first performance of ""Falstaff"" took place at La Scala on 9 February 1893. For the first night, official ticket prices were thirty times higher than usual. Royalty, aristocracy, critics and leading figures from the arts all over Europe were present. The performance was a huge success; numbers were encored, and at the end the applause for Verdi and the cast lasted an hour. That was followed by a tumultuous welcome when the composer, his wife and Boito arrived at the Grand Hotel de Milan. Even more hectic scenes ensued when he went to Rome in May for the opera's"
"Giuseppina Pasqua Giuseppina Pasqua (24 October 1851 – 24 February 1930) was an Italian opera singer who performed throughout Italy and Europe from the late 1860s through the early 1900s. She began her career as a soprano when she was only 13, but later retrained her voice as a mezzo-soprano. She sang in several world premieres, but is most remembered today for having created the role of Mistress Quickly in Giuseppe Verdi's ""Falstaff"". The composer wrote the role specifically for her and dedicated the Act II aria ""Giunta all' albergo"" to Pasqua. She was married to the baritone Astorre Giacomelli."
"her Covent Garden debut in the same role in the British premiere of the opera (1894). Zilli was a powerful singing actress, though her voice had a prominent vibrato not to everyone's taste. Her favourite roles included Puccini's ""Manon Lescaut"" and Fidelia in his ""Edgar"". At the height of her career Zilli caught yellow fever while performing in South America and died in Havana, Cuba. Emma Zilli Emma Zilli () (11 November 1864 – January 1901) was an Italian soprano, possibly best known for creating the role of Alice in Verdi's ""Falstaff"" in 1893. Zilli was born in Fagagna, Udine."
"which was part of the structural design. Some of the external decoration and one of the two very large bronze statues of lions sitting next to the theatre's monumental stairway entrance were created by Giovanni Rutelli's son, sculptor artist Sir Mario Rutelli. Construction started on 12 January 1874, but was stopped for eight years from 1882 until 1890. Finally, on 16 May 1897, twenty-two years after the laying of the foundation stone, the third largest opera house in Europe—after the Palais Garnier in Paris and the K. K. Hof-Opernhaus in Vienna—was inaugurated with a performance of Verdi's ""Falstaff"" conducted by"
"Antonio Scotti, who came to the Met from Europe in 1899 and remained on the roster of singers until 1933. Antonio Pini-Corsi was the standout Italian ""buffo"" baritone in the period between about 1880 and World War I, reveling in comic opera roles by Rossini, Donizetti and Paer, among others. In 1893, he created the part of Ford in Verdi's last opera, ""Falstaff"". Notable among their contemporaries were the cultured and technically adroit French baritones Jean Lassalle (hailed as the most accomplished baritone of his generation), Victor Maurel (the creator of Verdi's Iago, Falstaff and Tonio in Leoncavallo's ""Pagliacci""), Paul"
"Falstaff (Elgar) Falstaff – Symphonic Study in C minor, Op. 68, is an orchestral work by the English composer Edward Elgar. Though not so designated by the composer, it is a symphonic poem in the tradition of Franz Liszt and Richard Strauss. It portrays Sir John Falstaff, the ""fat knight"" of William Shakespeare's ""Henry IV"" Parts 1 and 2. The work was well received at its première in 1913, but did not inspire the great enthusiasm aroused by some of Elgar's earlier works. The composer thought it his finest orchestral piece, and many Elgar admirers agree, but it has not"
"Ilva Ligabue Ilva Ligabue (May 23, 1932, Reggio Emilia – August 17, 1998, Palermo) was an Italian operatic soprano, best known for the role of Alice Ford in ""Falstaff"", which she recorded twice, under Georg Solti (RCA, 1963) and Leonard Bernstein (Sony, 1966). Ilva Ligabue studied at the Milan Conservatory in the class of Campogalliani and at La Scuola di Canto alla Scala where she made her debut as Marina in 1953. After singing with success at most of the Italian opera houses, she won considerable acclaim in the title role of ""Beatrice di Tenda"" at La Scala in 1961,"
"were in Genoa for the winter. They were both taken ill there, and two months of work were lost. By mid-April 1892 the scoring of the first act was complete and by June–July Verdi was considering potential singers for roles in ""Falstaff"". For the title role he wanted Victor Maurel, the baritone who had sung Iago in ""Otello"", but at first the singer sought contractual terms that Verdi found unacceptable: ""His demands were so outrageous, exorbitant, [and] incredible that there was nothing else to do but stop the entire project"". Eventually they reached agreement and Maurel was cast. By September"
"he created the title role in ""Falstaff"", again at La Scala. These were the final two, and arguably the greatest, operatic masterpieces composed by Giuseppe Verdi, and it was Verdi who selected Maurel to perform in the premieres. Maurel made operatic history for a third time in 1892 when he was chosen to be the first Tonio in Ruggero Leoncavallo's enduringly popular verismo opera, ""Pagliacci"". Like many Paris-trained singers of his day, Maurel was equally adept at performing roles in Italian and French. He appeared, too, in several German operas by Richard Wagner (on 30 March 1873 he sang in"
"Falstaff (Salieri) Falstaff, ossia Le tre burle (""Falstaff, or The Three Jokes"") is a ""dramma giocoso"" in two acts by Antonio Salieri, set to a libretto by Carlo Prospero Defranceschi after William Shakespeare's ""The Merry Wives of Windsor"". One of the earliest operatic versions of Shakespeare's play, Salieri's ""Falstaff"" is notable for a general compression and streamlining of the original plot, note the absence of the two young lovers, Fenton and Anne, and the addition of a scene in which Mistress Ford pretends to be German to charm Falstaff (actually two such scenes exist, one in a separate score by"
"the Boston Center for the Arts with David Arnold in the title role, supported by Elizabeth Phinney, Pamela Gore, Frank Hoffmeister, and Ernest Triplett, with an English translation by Michael Auclair and scenery by William Fregosi. The conductor was Robert Willoughby Jones. Beethoven used the duet ""La stessa, La stessissima"" for a series of variations, WoO 73. Falstaff (Salieri) Falstaff, ossia Le tre burle (""Falstaff, or The Three Jokes"") is a ""dramma giocoso"" in two acts by Antonio Salieri, set to a libretto by Carlo Prospero Defranceschi after William Shakespeare's ""The Merry Wives of Windsor"". One of the earliest operatic"
"Ambrogio Maestri Ambrogio Maestri (born 1970) is an Italian operatic baritone. He is especially known for his portrayal of the title character in Giuseppe Verdi's ""Falstaff"". He studied piano and singing in his home town, Pavia. In Italy he has performed at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan, Teatro di San Carlo in Naples, Teatro Regio in Parma, Teatro dell'Opera di Roma, Teatro Regio in Turin, Teatro Verdi in Trieste and the Arena di Verona. Abroad he has performed at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, Teatro Nacional de São Carlos in Lisbon, the Royal Opera House in London, the Teatro Real"
"to take the opportunity, particularly as the conductor at that time of the Boston Symphony Orchestra was Arthur Nikisch, whom he had known since 1876, when they performed together at a concert in Vienna. Busoni's first son, Benvenuto (known as Benni), was born in Boston in 1892, but Busoni's experience at New England Conservatory proved unsatisfactory. After a year he resigned from the Conservatory and launched himself into a series of recitals across the Eastern USA. In April 1893 Busoni was present at the Berlin premiere of Giuseppe Verdi's opera ""Falstaff."" The result was to force on him a re-evaluation"
"canonical duet of Mr. and Mrs. Ford toward the end of Act II (featuring a rare late 18th century cello solo) and the grand finale to Act II. Throughout the score Salieri employs careful tone painting, parody of opera seria conventions, a more harmonically interesting structure for the secco recitative, and more involved counterpoint; traits that have helped return Falstaff to the playing boards. It was first performed at the Kärntnertortheater in Vienna on the 3 January 1799. Twenty-six performances were given between then and 1802. The American premiere took place on November 15, 1974 in the National Theater of"
"Casazza retired from the stage with a final performance at the Teatro Verdi in Trieste in 1947 as Mother in Charpentier's ""Louise"". She devoted her later years to teaching singing at the Rossini Conservatory in Pesaro and then at the Accademia di Santa Cecilia in Rome. Elvira Mari-Casazza died in Milan at the age of 80. Elvira Casazza Elvira Casazza (15 November 1887 – 24 January 1965) was an Italian mezzo-soprano opera singer (also known as Elvira Mari-Casazza). One of Toscanini's favourite singers, she was considered an outstanding interpreter of Mistress Quickly in Verdi's ""Falstaff"" during the 1920s and created"
"most notably ""Falstaff"". Rosina Storchio Rosina Storchio (19 January 1872 – 24 July 1945) was an Italian lyric coloratura soprano who starred in the world premieres of operas by Puccini, Leoncavallo, Mascagni and Giordano. Renowned throughout her homeland for her vivacious acting and sparkling stage presence, she possessed a smallish voice which deteriorated prematurely due to hard use, over-parting, and flaws in her technique. Born in Venice in 1872, Storchio studied at the Milan Conservatory before making her operatic debut as Micaëla in Bizet’s ""Carmen"" at Milan's Teatro Dal Verme in 1892. Three years later, she debuted at Italy's most"
"vainly to convince Baldo that the vagabond is a liar. Baldo gives in to her pleas only when Candida, in despair, asks the Madonna a miracle, and the bells start playing by themselves. Belfagor Belfagor (premiere 26 April 1923) is an Italian-language opera by the composer Ottorino Respighi to a libretto by Claudio Guastalla (1880-1948) based on the comedy ""Belfagor"" of Ercole Luigi Morselli (1882-1921), itself loosely based on the novella ""Belfagor arcidiavolo"" by Niccolò Machiavelli. It was premiered in 1923 at La Scala in Milan, under the baton of Antonio Guarnieri, since Toscanini was unavailable. The cast featured Irish"
"Emma Zilli Emma Zilli () (11 November 1864 – January 1901) was an Italian soprano, possibly best known for creating the role of Alice in Verdi's ""Falstaff"" in 1893. Zilli was born in Fagagna, Udine. She was trained as a pianist and began singing only after her marriage to the painter Giacomo Zilli, in 1882. She made her stage debut in 1887 at Ferrara as Paolina in Donizetti's ""Poliuto"" and in 1889 first sang at La Scala, Milan, as Camille in Hérold's ""Zampa"". In the same house she created the role of Alice Ford in Verdi's ""Falstaff"" (1893), and made"
"preparations for a new premiere, Clapisson's ""La fanchonnette"", he was forced to file a petition for bankruptcy. The artists attempted to take on the management of the company and on 18 January 1856 mounted a double-bill consisting of the premiere of Adam's one-act opéra comique ""Falstaff"" (23 performances) and a more successful revival of his three-act opéra comique ""Le sourd ou L'auberge pleine"" (133 performances), but Clapisson soon intervened and invited Madame Carvalho's husband Léon Carvalho to take Pellegrin's place. Carvalho agreed, and on 20 February 1856 he was officially appointed the new director. Léon Carvalho had had little or"
"Italian text. Boito was content to delegate the English and German translations to William Beatty Kingston and Max Kalbeck respectively. The London premiere, sung in Italian, was at Covent Garden on 19 May 1894. The conductor was Mancinelli, and Zilli and Pini Corsi repeated their original roles. Falstaff was sung by Arturo Pessina; Maurel played the role at Covent Garden the following season. On 4 February 1895 the work was first presented at the Metropolitan Opera, New York; Mancinelli conducted and the cast included Maurel as Falstaff, Emma Eames as Alice, Zélie de Lussan as Nannetta and Sofia Scalchi as"
"Edoardo Garbin Edoardo Garbin (12 March 1865 – 12 April 1943) was an Italian operatic tenor. He was married to the soprano Adelina Stehle. One of the most important Italian tenors of his day, Garbin created, inter alia, tenor roles in Franchetti's ""Cristoforo Columbo,"" Fenton in Verdi's last opera ""Falstaff"" (1893), and Milio in Leoncavallo's ""Zaza""; in 1917, in Rome, he appeared in the world premiere of Renzo Bianchi's ""Gismonda"" alongside Ida Quaiatti and Domenico Viglione Borghese. His success in Anglo-Saxon countries (such as England) was (put charitably) limited (he was, by ""The Times,"" described as ""miserable"" as Cavaradossi at"
"finish the music?"". If the project failed, it would have been a waste of Boito's time, and have distracted him from completing his own new opera. Finally on 10 July 1889 he wrote again: ""So be it! So let's do ""Falstaff""! For now, let's not think of obstacles, of age, of illnesses!"" Verdi emphasised the need for secrecy, but continued ""If you are in the mood, then start to write."" Later he wrote to Boito (capitals and exclamation marks are Verdi's own): ""What joy to be able to say to the public: HERE WE ARE AGAIN!!! COME AND SEE US!"""
"1907. The first recording of the complete opera was made by Italian Columbia in March and April 1932. It was conducted by Lorenzo Molajoli with the chorus and orchestra of La Scala, and a cast including Giacomo Rimini as Falstaff and Pia Tassinari as Alice. Some live stage performances were recorded in the 1930s, but the next studio recording was that conducted by Toscanini for broadcast by NBC in 1950, released on disc by RCA. The first stereophonic recording was conducted by Herbert von Karajan for EMI in 1956. Among the singers whose performances of the title role are on"
"first complete recording of Mozart's opera ""Die Zauberflöte"" (The Magic Flute) with the Berlin Philharmonic under Sir Thomas Beecham, and in 1943 Falstaff in the first complete recording of Nicolai's opera ""Die lustigen Weiber von Windsor"" (The Merry Wives of Windsor) under Artur Rother, also in Berlin, both of these major German roles with overpowering magnificence and grandeur of voice and interpretation. He was also known for his renditions of the ballads ""Der Nöck"" (The Water Sprite) by August Kopisch and ""Die Uhr"" (The Clock) by Johann Gabriel Seidl, both set to music by Carl Loewe. Because of his great"
"contribute 10,000 lire towards the construction and maintained his own box. On opening night, operagoers dressed in green, the men all wearing green ties, the women wearing green dresses. Two Verdi operas were presented: ""Rigoletto"" and ""Un ballo in maschera"". Verdi did not attend even though he lived only two miles away at his home, the Villa Verdi, in the village of Sant’Agata in Villanova sull'Arda. In 1913, Arturo Toscanini conducted a performance of ""Falstaff"" in celebration of the centenary of Verdi’s birth and to raise funds for what is now a large monument of the seated composer located in"
"Antonio Pini-Corsi Antonio Pini-Corsi (June [?] 1858 or 1859 – 21 April 1918) was an Italian operatic baritone of international renown. He possessed a ripe-toned voice of great flexibility and displayed tremendous skill at patter singing. Pini-Corsi participated in numerous operatic premieres, creating such roles on stage as Ford in Giuseppe Verdi's ""Falstaff"" and Schaunard in Giacomo Puccini's ""La bohème"". Part of the first generation of recorded musicians, Pini-Corsi was one of the finest buffo singers of his era. Pini-Corsi was born into a musical family in Zara, later known as Zadar, in what is now Croatia. (Many of his"
"opera based on Shakespeare's ""King Lear"" never came to fruition—despite the existence of a libretto—Boito provided subtle and resonant libretti for Verdi's last two masterpieces, ""Otello"" (which was based on Shakespeare's play ""Othello"") and ""Falstaff"" based on ""The Merry Wives of Windsor"" and parts of ""Henry IV"". After their years of close association, when Verdi died in 1901, Boito was at his bedside. The years given are those of the premieres. Boito also provided the text to Verdi's cantata ""Inno delle Nazioni"" which was first given on 24 May 1862 at Her Majesty's Theatre, London. Recordings of two operas exist:"
"traditions of opérette and opéra-comique results in ""an explosion of pastiche, quotation, allusion, archaisms, dance rhythms of all kinds, Wagnerian chromaticisms, modernist parallel chords, patter singing"", and for musical pleasure brackets ""Le roi malgré lui"" with Verdi’s ""Falstaff"". Paulson offers a comprehensive analysis of the music of the opera, arguing that these characteristics, among others, contribute to a sophisticated discourse of musical humour that operates on multiple structural and intertextual levels. The opera was not to the taste of Cosima Wagner, who attended an 1890 performance in Dresden. She wrote to Felix Mottl: ""What vulgarity and lack of ideas. No"
"Pedro Gailhard Pedro Gailhard, full name Pierre Samson Gailhard, (1 August 1848 – 12 October 1918) was a French opera singer and theatre director. Gifted with an exceptional singing bass voice, Pedro Gailhard made his debut at the Opéra-Comique, then sang at the Opéra Garnier, as Mephisto in ""Faust"" by Charles Gounod in 1871. His interprétation of Leporello in ""Don Giovanni"" by Mozart was considered remarkable. Pedro Gailhard was director of the Paris Opera from 1884 to 1891 and from 1893 to 1907. He was mentioned as such in the novel ""The Phantom of the Opera"" by Gaston Leroux. He"
"(1871), with three late masterpieces: his Requiem (1874), and the operas ""Otello"" (1887) and ""Falstaff"" (1893). His operas remain extremely popular, especially the three peaks of his 'middle period': ""Rigoletto, Il trovatore"" and ""La traviata"", and the 2013 bicentenary of his birth was widely celebrated in broadcasts and performances. Verdi, the first child of Carlo Giuseppe Verdi (1785–1867) and Luigia Uttini (1787–1851), was born at their home in Le Roncole, a village near Busseto, then in the Département Taro and within the borders of the First French Empire following the annexation of the Duchy of Parma and Piacenza in 1808."
"and sonorous. Carlo Angrisani Carlo Angrisani (c. 1760 - ?) was an Italian operatic bass. He was born in Reggio Emilia. After singing at several theatres in Italy, he appeared at Vienna, where, in 1798 and 1799, he published two collections of ""Notturni"" (""nocturnes"") for three voices. In 1817 he sang at the King's Theatre in London with Joséphine Fodor, Giuditta Pasta, Violante Camporese, Pierre Begrez, Naldi, and Giuseppe Ambrogietti. His roles in premieres include Sir John Falstaff in Salieri's ""Falstaff"" and Peters in Simon Mayr's ""L'amor coniugale"". The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians describes his voice was"
"1941, and he remained a proponent of the work for the rest of his career, presenting it frequently in Vienna, Salzburg and elsewhere, and making audio and video recordings of it. Solti also became closely associated with ""Falstaff"", as did Carlo Maria Giulini; they both conducted many performances of the work in mainland Europe, Britain and the US and made several recordings. Leonard Bernstein conducted the work at the Met and the Vienna State Opera, and on record. The advocacy of these and later conductors has given the work an assured place in the modern repertoire. Among revivals in the"