A second helping for Carsen’s delicious Falstaff

By Mark Pullinger, 07 July 2015

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“Maestri rolled words around his tongue like a man savouring a fine Chianti”

Reviewed at Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London on 6 July 2015

Verdi, Falstaff

The Royal Opera

Michael Schønwandt, Conductor

Robert Carsen, Director

Brigitte Reiffenstuel, Costume Designer

Paul Steinberg, Set Designer

Ambrogio Maestri, Sir John Falstaff

Ainhoa Arteta, Alice Ford

Roland Wood, Ford

Anna Devin, Nannetta

Luis Gomes, Fenton

Agnes Zwierko, Mistress Quickly

Kai Rüütel-Pajula, Meg Page

Peter Hoare, Dr Caius

Alasdair Elliott, Bardolfo (Bardolph)

Lukas Jakobski, Pistola (Pistol)

Royal Opera Chorus

Orchestra of the Royal Opera House Covent Garden

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Mark Pullinger

Mark has been a Bachtrack editor since 2014. He is also an experienced critic, writing hundreds of reviews for the site, as well as a freelancer writing for other magazines and newspapers. He also writes programme notes and blogs on Substack. Mark has a particular passion for the operas of Verdi as well as Russian and French repertoire. Outside the concert hall and opera house, Mark enjoys cooking and travel and is probably at his happiest let loose in a French patisserie or a Viennese coffee house.

A second helping for Carsen’s delicious Falstaff at the Royal Opera