Salieri: Falstaff. (Opera and Oratorio).(Sound Recording Review)

[] Haller, Faraon, Thebault; Pruvot, Edwards, Smith, Spogis; La Grande Ecurie et La Chambre du Roy, Les Chantres de la Chapelle, Malgoire. Text and translation. Dynamic CDS 405/1-2 (Qualiton, dist.)

Don't look here for the genius of Verdi and Boito on the subject of Shakespeare's Sir John Falstaff. Salieri's Falstaff (1799), almost his final opera, is an extremely well-crafted work, but it is not daring or revolutionary, as its more famous successor is. Salieri's music embraces the traditions of late-eighteenth-century opera buffa, and his characters, while well delineated, are often limited in expression by the strictures of those traditions. The piece is labeled a dramma giocoso, but most of the real dramatic expression comes in the form of tirades that parody opera seria, some of them quite effective. In spite of these strong moments, expert vocal writing and some very attractive orchestration and fine ensembles, Falstaff was not a great success, disappearing from the court theaters in Vienna after twenty-six performances.

The plot follows the multiple humiliations of Falstaff by the two ladies he woos, varying from the Boito-Verdi adaptation in the omission of the young lovers, Fenton and Anne--and of the potential warmth and youth they provide. Salieri shifts the focus to the relationship of the elder Fords; Mr. Ford, particularly, is given ample opportunity to express his jealousy, and he becomes a sympathetic character. Instead of Mistress Quickly, there is a comic device that doubtless proved hilarious for Viennese audiences of the time: a German girl who delivers messages from Mrs. Ford, singing in a broken German-Italian mix. (She is, in fact, the lady herself in disguise.) Meg Page is, in this version, Mrs. Slender, and a sweet servant girl, Betty, joins in the plot. Mr. Slender is also a participant in the proceedings. In many ways the Salieri ...