Opera Explained: An Introduction to Verdi's "Falstaff"

Great for learning to enjoy opera. The excitment conveyed is great. At the end you want to listen to the complete opera!!Hope there will be additional titles to what exist today.

excellent

I have been exceedingly pleased with this whole series of 'An Introduction to ...' various operas from Naxos. They have all been written by Thomson Smillie and read with relish by British actor David Timson. And I think this one on 'Falstaff' may be the best of the lot. Maybe I think that because I'd just been immersed in two historic recordings of 'Falstaff,' and had come to realize what a masterpiece it is and what a huge favorite of mine. Sometimes I get on kicks where I listen to one work again and again, and I'm afraid that's what has happened here. But listening, in the midst of my Falstaff-mania, to this CD has broadened even further my appreciation of this work of genius. Smillie points out things that I, for all my familiarity with the opera, simply had not known, or noticed before. He describes, for instance, how Boito fashioned such a balanced and trenchant libretto of the Shakespeare plays in which Falstaff plays a part, primarily 'Henry IV' and 'The Merry Wives of Windsor.' And he makes the point along the way that Boito had done much the same with Shakespeare's 'Othello' when he came to write the libretto for the Verdi opera just preceding 'Falstaff,' 'Otello.'The musical examples on this disc are generous and well-chosen. And they are in generally quite good performances. They are all taken from the Naxos 'Falstaff' that stars Domenico Trimarchi as Falstaff, Roberto Servile as Ford, Maurizio Comencini as Fenton, Julia Faulkner as Alice, the single-named Dilbèr as Nannetta, Anna Bonitatibus as Meg Page, and the organ-voiced Anna Maria di Micco as Mistress Quickly, all conducted by Will Humburg, who has given us some very nice performances in the Naxos opera series.Smillie does a wonderful job of appreciating and outlining this miracle of wit from the elderly Verdi's pen and makes the point that the final product of that pen, the summing up in the last act by means of 'Tutta nel mundo è burla' ('All the world's a joke') from an operatic genius who wrote only one other comedy, as Verdi's final statement to the world, the wisdom of an old man who had seen it all. As that generally agrees with my own view of things, I loved hearing it said.This is an outstanding release. If you have the least bit of interest in knowing more about this opera, snap it up. It's a keeper.Scott Morrison

First of all, what is this item doing under Popular music? But barring that, on with the review.Of all the recordings that profess to be an "Introduction to Opera," those from the Metropolitan Opera Guild have led the pack. Unfortunately, many of them are no longer available; and so it is a Good Thing that mighty Naxos has introduced a new series called "Opera Explained." The first two entries are "An Introduction to THE BARBER OF SEVILLE" (8.558008) and "An Introduction to AIDA" (8.558009). Both are written by Thomson Smillie and narrated by actor David Timson. The discussions begin with a long introduction to the composer and the times in which the work was composed, and then goes on to tell the story using highlights from Naxos recordings of the work. What is important, however, is that each song is analyzed both dramatically and musically. For example, Smillie's main thesis is that "Aida" is really a chamber opera (with a circus in the middle) so that he emphasizes the human element in the duets, while not forgetting the political themes that form the background. I am not sure if references to Miss Piggy and other modern personalities and events do not slightly dumb down the arguments, but they are rare and do raise a smile. The target audience is obviously the educated adult, not the television-addicted child. Yet, the latter might certainly find much of what is on these CDs of interest. Teachers, take note.

As an introduction to Verdi's Falstaff for someone who is booked to go and see the opera for the first time and wants to get the most out of the experience, this CD exactly hits the spot.The narration is clear, intelligent and easy to follow, and it is beautifully read, with engaging enthusiasm. After four tracks of background, illustrated by well-chosen short snatches from related operas, the bulk of the CD takes you through the story of the opera and introduces the melodies and the structure of the music in a most entertaining way.The recorded performance from which the extracts are taken is beautifully played and sung, and in the main well recorded, but the wide dynamic range means it is sometimes quiet in comparison to the narration. As a result, when listening in the car (as we mainly did) you have to adjust the volume to hear the detail in some passages. The rich voice of Mistress Quickly suffers in particular by apparently coming from a long way back on the stage on several occasions.Anyway, I recommend it without hesitation, we loved listening to it and as a result are looking forward to our performance eagerly. We plan to hear it at least once more before we go. It is a relatively small addition to the ticket price, and in my opinion worth every penny.

Helpful and informative and not toooo detailed and long but sorry the narrators voice is a tad, dare I say boring! Sorry. Stephen Fry or Obamas voice would have been ohh so much more engaging....

I was new to opera and find these CDs to be excellent to give background to the opera / composer. They enable the opera to be better appreciated when seen.

処女作が作者のその後のすべての展開を暗示するのとは異なり、swan songは限りなく作者を離れた意味での世界の本質を示唆するのかもしれません。このfalstaffもそのような作品です。裏切りや不倫と情熱のままの人生を激しい音楽で描写してきたverdiが最後にたどり着いたのがこの作品という事実はすべてを物語っています。というと最後のdenouementへのプロセスだけが注目されてしまいますが、いろいろな魅力を持つこの作品が最初のintroductionから丁寧に解説されることになります。このシリーズのトリスタンのようにもっぱら歴史的な解説に終始することなく、作品の流れを丁寧に追うことにより、この作品がよりよく理解されます。