Pittsburgh Opera’s ‘Falstaff:’ So Funny, It’ll Bring Tears to Your Eyes

As with many serious operas, it’s cathartic to find yourself shedding a real tear for tragic losses. I think of the first opera I ever saw, with my father, when I was ten. I’m guessing there was a last-minute babysitter cancellation or that some unspoken crisis at home had best get resolved without me in the picture. In any case, Dad took me to see Puccini’s Madame Butterfly at the Syria Mosque and I remember crying. The poor Japanese woman who had fallen in love with a handsome U.S. Naval officer, then left behind, later realizes she must accept the consequences of having had her son out of wedlock when the officer, returning years later, accepts no responsibility. I remember the boy ironically saluting the American flag, the glistening metal of the harakiri sword, and I remember crying.

I cried last night, too, attending the opening of Pittsburgh Opera’s last show of the season, Verdi’s Falstaff. But for two different reasons. First, the antics of the show are laugh-out-loud funny, not to mention (as I shall shortly) the impeccable characterizations of Falstaff and Dame Quickly. And, secondly, last night I brought my son to his first opera. Of course, he’s thirty years old now, but we both laughed until we cried. And, perhaps, one tear or another was shed for sentimental reasons. The two of us are both named for my father, the man who spent his Sundays listening to one scratchy record after another, in puddles of emotion, for his love of opera.

Falstaff is titled after the character Sir John Falstaff made immortal by Shakespeare in three of his plays: Henry IV Part 1, Henry IV Part 2, and The Merry Wives of Windsor. And, indeed, Verdi’s opera uses Henry, but much more of the The Merry Wives plot, with a libretto adapted by Arrigo Boito, to tell the comic folly of the roly-poly, once-Knighted buffoon who intends to exploit the dignity of smarter men by wooing their wives in the whimsical town of Windsor.  

First, the curtain rises on a wonderfully creative and amusing set. We are inside Falstaff’s room in the Garter Inn where he and his two sidekicks, Pistola and Bardolfo, are all nursing wicked hangovers from the night before. Falstaff discovers the real pain of his situation; he’s spent his last penny. The joke, first established by a set designed by Steven C. Kemp for Opera San Jose, is that we are all inside a giant keg of wine. The entire proscenium is embellished with large concentric rings, adding great stage depth while focused all-too appropriately on the entrance (and exit) of the room which is the wooden lid of a large oak cask to be drained and filled with great spirit. It’s genius.

And so, too, is Michael Chioldi as Sir John Falstaff. From his first baritone belch, we are to love this classic fool. With long gray hair and a longer beard to match, he struts his rotund presence on stage with a makeshift belly and splayed legs to masterful, comic effect. Of course, it’s the man who makes his costume work. But Chioldi impresses us with his gestures, his snide glances, and a bravado that assures us he is just foolish enough to think he is in command. Of course, Chioldi is in full command of his character and fantastic voice which deliver comic schtick and lively lyrics every bit as funny as those W.C. Fields, Buddy Hackett or Chris Farley ever shared in more modern contexts. Chioldi’s Falstaff is not to be missed.

In the role of Dame Quickly, Marianne Cornetti might rightfully be accused of upstaging Chioldi. Here’s a star mezzo-soprano who knows how to make an entrance. Cornetti is one of Pittsburgh Opera’s great resident alumna. With arms a-flailing, wondrous eyes twinkling all-knowing deceptions, and strained postures of submission as she curtseys so grandly, Cornetti’s Quickly is pure joy. 

Cornetti’s role is to act as the messenger between the merry wives and the jolly knight who plans to woo them, but Dame Quickly is by far the better mastermind of comeuppance. Which begs some exposition of plot I’ll sparingly reveal. Falstaff needs money. He schemes to woo wealthy Mr. Ford’s wife, Alice (Danielle Pastin), as well as her neighbor Meg Page (Audrey Welsh), to “shake down” some hush money. Falstaff foolishly sends both ladies the same letter not thinking they will share them with each other or their husbands. And Mr. Ford (Blake Denson) takes it one step further. He intercepts Falstaff, pretending to be a “Mr. Brook,” and promises Falstaff wine and wealth if the fool will bring Alice Ford to his loving attention. Meanwhile, rejected by Falstaff, Pistola (Matthew Soibelman) and Bardolfo (Rick Hale) acquaint themselves with Mr. Ford to serve a new master that Falstaff intends to deceive. It’s an impossible set-up that the jolly fool cannot win. And, amidst all these machinations of subterfuge, two young lovers, Nannette (Shannon Crowley) and Fenton (Logan Wagner), must avoid the lascivious advances of Dr. Caius (Joseph Frank) whom Mr. Ford, Nannetta’s father, has promised his daughter to wed. 

What makes Falstaff such a fun and funny opera is that Verdi and Boito deliver not one, but two charades that bring Falstaff to his knees. The first ends with a wet and sputtering fool; the second with a well-lubricated soul enjoying a belly of laughs. While it’s nearly impossible to enjoy opera without reading the projected translations, the English lyrics here are truly funny and the phrasing is sharper and saltier than any one might expect from old Italian. 

A special nod is owed Shannon Crowley for her very lithe interpretation of Nannetta. She turns out a funny performance in a role one doesn’t expect to be comic. Hat’s off to her, but also, and perhaps more appropriately, to the Sarasota Opera Association for providing the costumes. Just wait until Sir John Falstaff appears dressed for his secret rendezvous with Alice Ford. It’s a show-stopper.

As always, conductor Antony Walker deserves his share of accolades for the magical Pittsburgh Opera Orchestra, a full complement of 60 (maybe more?) musicians who give this opera a lift it hardly lacks, which makes their talent all the greater. Crystal Manich deserves due credit for directing this breathless opera, which Cindy Knight stage managed and Cindy Limauro lit with great background effects and subtle, but important spotlight features. 

Yet, the greatest accolades may be owed to Pittsburgh Opera’s General Director Christopher Hahn. This is his last production of 26 years in his ardent association with our city’s great company. Running any performing arts organization, even for a short while, comes with a lot of daily dilemmas and ever-fleeting opportunities to right the ship at sea. Hahn has done heroic work. And thus, he is owed the honesty and humor of Falstaff’s last lyrics, “He who laughs last, laughs best.” Pittsburgh Opera’s Falstaff is onstage at the Benedum Center through May 3.

Photos by David Bachman.

C. Prentiss Orr is a Pittsburgh-based writer who covers theater and other topics for Entertainment Central. He is the author of the books The Surveyor and the Silversmith and Pittsburgh Born, Pittsburgh Bred.

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