Die lustigen Weiber von Windsor

He is the eternal irresistible rogue – the portly knight Sir John Falstaff. When he attempts to seduce two of Windsor’s women with identical letters, he truly meets his match. He is dumped into the Thames together with the dirty laundry, run out of the house in women’s clothing and hounded and harried in the woods at midnight. And indeed the “merry wives” also manage to bring a jealous husband to his senses and two young lovers together while they are at it.

Between Antonio Salieri and Giuseppe Verdi, Shakespeare’s comedy figure Falstaff has made his way to the opera stage many times. Otto Nicolai’s version is still today considered the best German opera piece to tackle the material. His greatest and final success (he died in May 1849, just two months after the Berlin world premiere) delights continuously, from the magical overtures right through to the turbulent finale, in which “all ends in joy and merriment”.

It stages the humorous Grande Dame of German musical theatre, and the house’s new Principal Conductor will grace the podium.

DIE LUSTIGEN WEIBER VON WINDSOR programme reading sample