The love-crazed, fat, old Falstaff becomes the laughing stock of a women’s intrigue. In Giuseppe Verdi’s comic opera – opulently staged by director David McVicar – Carlos Álvarez shines in the role of a vocally grandiose and stunningly funny Sir John. Impressive also the rest of the ensemble – above all, Vienna’s favorite Simon Keenlyside as Ford.
La Bohème
One of the world’s most beloved operas, “La Bohème” is, along with Puccini’s “Tosca” and “Madama Butterfly”, one of the pillars of the Italian repertory. Premiered in Turin on 1 February 1896, it was dismissed as “a momentary error”. It wasn’t until its first performance in Palermo that year that the opera scored a definitive success. Film director Luigi Comencini (“La Storia”) transposed the story to the early 20th century and made a few minor changes in the storyline as well. Mimi, for instance, dies in her own room. Although the sound track features the voice of José Carreras as Rodolfo, his illness prevented him from playing the role in the film; he was substituted by Luca Canonici. As Mimi, Barbara Hendricks gives a splendid performance, which was unanimously praised in all reviews.
Madama Butterfly
An acclaimed cinematic adaptation of Puccini’s popular opera about the tragic love affair between a naive geisha and the American naval officer who deserts her and their young child. Like the finest of film scores with its fluid beauty and succession of intensely romantic tunes, Madame Butterfly has a surprisingly cinematic feel. In 1995 director Frederic Mitterand exploited this quality of the story, exposing a young woman’s disillusionment against a backdrop of cultural chasms. Shot on location, with Tunisia doubling convincingly as a turn of the century Nagasaki, this Butterfly shines with fragile beauty. The house becomes a brilliantly used set; airy and full of the scent of flowers and at the same time a cage for the trapped woman. Archive footage of bygone Nagasaki is used skillfully to underline the distance between the 15-year-old bride and Pinkerton. Featuring Chinese soprano Ying Huang and American tenor Richard Troxell.