Verdi: Falstaff. (Opera And Oratorio).(Review)

[] Roschmann, Pieczonka, Doufexis, Diadkova; Shtoda, Hampson, Terfel; Berlin Radio Choir, Berlin Philharmonic, Abbado. Text and translations. Deutsche Grammophon 471 194-2

It is not mere marketing hype to suggest that Bryn Terfel was born to play Sir John Falstaff. There are many fine baritones gracing our stages today, but few with the outsize personality and vocal makeup to do justice to Shakespeare's fat old knight. And in this much-anticipated recording, Terfel lives up to his billing. He may have a bit too much youthful bloom in his voice to convince us he is appropriately aged; otherwise, he is every inch the salacious, ornery, self-congratulatory and ultimately lovable Shakespearean character.

Indeed, Terfel's Falstaff is wondrously -- and appropriately -- larger-than-life, yet the portrayal is so finely detailed that one never feels he is overplaying the role. In the opening scene, for example, when Sir John castigates his henchmen Bardolfo and Pistola by piously intoning the swindler's maxim "Rubar con garbo e a tempo" (Steal with grace and at the right time), Terfel's righteous tone indicates that this man takes himself seriously indeed.

The Welsh bass-baritone makes it quite easy for us to imagine what his interpretation looks like, too. When he is handed the innkeeper's bill, a few seconds later in that same scene, one can almost see reflected in his face a fond remembrance of every morsel and sip that has passed through his lips. One can even hear the shaking of his considerable jowls when he cries "Ladri!" (Thieves!) in the famous "Onore" (Honor) monologue at the scene's close.

But while Terfel is the main draw here -- note the set's packaging, which places his name and Verdi's in the same size type -- Falstaff is not a star vehicle. Rather, it is a pure ensemble piece. So it should not really matter that the only other well-known name on this recording is Thomas Hampson, brilliantly cast here as Ford. This is a man whose jealousy all too often gets the better of him, yet Hampson also allows us to see his charms and understand why his wife is devoted to him.

The rest of the cast is very good, if not on quite such an exalted level. Adrianne Pieczonka (Alice Ford) is especially quick-witted and lovely during her first assignation with Sir John, and she has a hint of the society matron in her tone that befits a burgher's wife. Stella ...