This
month, Clef Notes is exploring various musical settings of Shakespeare in honor
of the 400th anniversary of his passing that took place this past
Saturday, April 23. This week, let’s look at several famous settings of his
comedy The Merry Wives of Windsor.
Did
you know that Falstaff was Verdi’s
final opera, premiered in 1893 and completed just before the composer turned
80? With the success of Otello, Verdi’s librettist, Arrigo Boito, persuaded him to write
a comic opera based on Shakespeare’s The
Merry Wives of Windsor. The hilarious plot follows the story of Sir John
Falstaff, who desires to seduce the wives of two of Windsor’s wealthiest men. Shakespeare
first introduced his Falstaff character in the Henry IV plays. Legend says that he then brought him back in Merry Wives at the queen’s request to
witness Falstaff in love.
The
opera is challenging for both the performers and audience as it’s quite fast
paced, the plot beginning immediately without an overture or prelude! You can
watch below.
Next
time, we’ll continue looking at The Merry
Wives of Windsor by exploring Otto Nicolai’s setting.
