Songs of innocence and experience: Falstaff at Garsington

By Charlotte Valori, 18 June 2018

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“Waddington steadily excavates his character with forensic skill”

Reviewed at Garsington Opera, High Wycombe on 16 June 2018

Verdi, Falstaff

Garsington Opera

Richard Farnes, Conductor

Bruno Ravella, Director

Giles Cadle, Set Designer, Costume Designer

Henry Waddington, Sir John Falstaff

Mary Dunleavy, Alice Ford

Richard Burkhard, Ford

Soraya Mafi, Nannetta

Yvonne Howard, Mistress Quickly

Oliver Johnston, Fenton

Victoria Simmonds, Meg Page

Colin Judson, Dr Caius

Adrian Thompson, Bardolfo (Bardolph)

Nicholas Crawley, Pistola (Pistol)

Garsington Opera Chorus

Philharmonia Orchestra

Malcolm Rippeth, Lighting Designer

A radically trad Fidelio at Garsington

Peter Quantrill, 27th June

Simple solutions prove the best in Beethoven's "problem" opera as John Cox's staging is revived at Garsington.

****1

Ravishing Rodelinda: Handel al fresco at Garsington Opera

Roy Westbrook, 13th June

Ruth Knight untangles Handel's Rodelinda, directing a new staging at Garsington which features a feast of fine singing.

****1

Three card trick: compelling new Queen of Spades at Garsington

Roy Westbrook, 29th May

Jack Furness directs a terrific new Queen of Spades at Garsington – haunting and harrowing.

****1

Garsington’s L’elisir d’amore: Dr Feelgood wins the day

David Karlin, 28th May

Simon Higlett’s exquisite sets and costumes give a backdrop to Donizetti’s frothiest of rom-coms.

****1

Madcap comedy from Verdi: Un giorno di regno at Garsington

David Karlin, 29th June

Christopher Alden, Chris Hopkins and an excellent cast send us a comic roller coaster ride with Verdi’s ultra-rarely performed second opera.

*****

Garsington Opera's new A Midsummer Night's Dream

Roy Westbrook, 16th June

In the first and last acts, ladies entered with a train still attached to a bolt of cloth, which was then cut to length by an attendant. Was this production brought to the stage in a great hurry, allowing no time for costume fittings?

***11

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Charlotte Valori

Charlotte Valori read Classics at Christ Church, Oxford. As a classicist, her main interest is Greek tragedy and its reception by later cultures, which has led to a continuing passion for theatre and opera. Charlotte reviews for several online magazines, and won the Bachtrack Opera Award 2015 for Best Written English Review. Follow her on Twitter @operissima.

Songs of innocence and experience: Verdi's Falstaff at Garsington