Verdi interesting indeed

Of all the imagined locations for a meeting between Verdi and Shakespeare, the Oregon Coast might not be your first guess.

But that’s exactly where these two cultural icons will come together, when the Metropolitan Opera presents “Falstaff,” live in HD on the Newport Performing Arts Center’s big screen this Saturday, April 1.

Verdi’s glorious Shakespearean comedy is full of humor and genuine emotion, representing a splendid finale to Verdi’s unparalleled career in the theater. The story is an amalgamation of scenes from Shakespeare, primarily drawn from the comedy “The Merry Wives of Windsor.” It centers on the remarkable personality of Sir John Falstaff, one of literature’s most compelling characters. With a supremely well-crafted score, which has long commanded the respect even of Verdi’s critics, it is an astounding work and one of the world’s most accessible and beloved comedic operas.

Robert Carsen’s celebrated staging features a brilliant ensemble cast. Baritone Michael Volle sings his first Verdi role at the Met as the caddish knight Falstaff, gleefully tormented by a trio of clever women who deliver his comeuppance. Reuniting after their acclaimed turns in the production’s 2019 run are soprano Ailyn Pérez as Alice Ford, mezzo-soprano Jennifer Johnson Cano as Meg Page, and contralto Marie-Nicole Lemieux as Mistress Quickly. Soprano Hera Hyesang Park and tenor Bogdan Volkov are the young couple Nannetta and Fenton, and Maestro Daniele Rustioni conducts.

The production is sung in Italian and will be broadcast with English subtitles live in HD from the Met stage to the Alice Silverman Theatre at the Newport Performing Arts Center, 777 W Olive Street.

The screening will begin at 9:30 am and run for approximately two hours and 45 minutes.

Tickets, $12 to $22, are available at the box office, by calling 541-265-2782, or online at www.coastarts.org.