There is no work to compare with Falstaff. In his last opera, Giuseppe Verdi, then aged eighty-four, delivered, from behind the mask of his buffoon-like rascal of a hero, the testimony of a life approaching its end and whose moral, like that of the opera, would be: life is but a joke.

This indefinable comedy, tinged with pessimism, defies all the conventions of 19^th century Italian opera and testifies to Verdi’s passion for the theatre.

Dominique Pitoiset’s witty, humorous production brings these eccentric characters to life and their sparkling interplay maintains a perfect balance between fantasy and reality, the very essence of the work.

The Paris Opera Orchestra and Chorus

A co-production of Opéra de Paris Production and Cinétévé
With the participation of France Télévisions and with the support of the Orange Foundation, patron of audiovisual transmissions and the National Center for Cinema and Moving Images.

Director: Philippe Béziat
© 2013 - Opéra de Paris Production - Cinétévé

Picture: © Mirko Magliocca / OnP