Falstaff is Verdi’s last, and also his only comic, opera.
The vainglorious knight Falstaff seduces married women who repay his unsound judgement and obtrusiveness with happy jokes. Falstaff has a narrow escape from a planned assignation when the lady of the house hides him in a basket of dirty laundry but then has the basket taken away and emptied on the river bank. Falstaff, however, still longs for another tryst and does not hesitate to set off into the forest at midnight. There, the company terrifies him with a round dance of elves and ghosts, from which Falstaff escapes “merely” ridiculed.
The plot and the music include both comic elements and lyrical passages for the young lovers. In Falstaff, Verdi created one of the most fundamental baritone roles in the entire international operatic literature.
TRAVEL
By Tram: 9, 22, 23, 17 or 18 all go directly to the National Theatre
By metro: Metro B to Národní třída
20 min walk from centre (Old Town Hall)
Dress code: Guests are encouraged to dress smartly. A jacket & tie is not strictly necessary, but we would advise against wearing jeans and trainers.
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