Opera North – Falstaff at The Lowry, Salford Review
DISCLOSURE – TICKETS TO SEE THE SHOW WERE GIFTED TO THE REVIEWER AND GUEST FOR THE PURPOSES OF WRITING THE REVIEW
Reviewed by Cath Joyce
We love going to the theatre but up until now have never seen an opera, so were really looking forward to seeing Opera North’s adaptation of Falstaff at The Lowry, Salford.
Falstaff is part of Opera North’s Green Season, which includes three productions, Verdi’s Falstaff, Masque of Might and Puccini’s La Rondine. The “Green Season” as the name implies indicates their commitment to sustainability, everyone is trying to be more eco friendly so it is really good to discover that theatres are also looking at their carbon footprint with The Theatre Green Book setting new benchmarks for sustainability.
The operas are on three consecutive nights at the Lowry and as part of the green initiative all use the same scenery which comes with a couple of benefits – the sets require less materials and it significantly reduces both the cost and environmental impact of transporting the large set between venues. In creating the set for these operas they have also used props, costumes and materials from previous productions as well as sourcing additional items second hand. All this has helped Opera North to reduce their carbon footprint with the aim to be carbon neutral by 2030.
Set designer Leslie Travers and lighting designers Paule Constable and Ben Pickersgill have done a fantastic job of creating the set for Falstaff, the large set was very impressive and really helped set the scene.
So onto the opera – it is about Sir John Falstaff (played by Henry Waddington), a portly rogue created by Shakespeare. Having run out of money he comes up with a plan to woo two wealthy wives, Alice Ford (Kate Royal) and Meg Page (Helen Evora) who he thinks won’t be able to resist his charms and then solve his money problems. Unfortunately for Falstaff the ladies discover he has sent them both the same love letter so decide to teach him a lesson he’ll never forget!
Having gone to the theatre not really knowing what to expect we were both really impressed by our first opera experience and were hooked from the first scene. Any worries we had beforehand about not following the story were quashed as the programme contained a synopsis of the acts and together with the subtitles made it easy to follow. The entire performance is sung so the subtitles at the side of the stage proved really helpful, whilst the majority of words were very clear there were points where I did struggle with the words and being able to read them was invaluable.
The opera is split into 3 acts with 2 scenes in each and Verdi’s score, played to perfection by the orchestra, is full of energy and humour. Act one sees us in Falstaff’s lodgings recovering from a night of drunkenness, his lack of funds forces him to come up with a plan of seduction which even his servants refuse to help with. A 1970’s caravan takes centre stage and the cast make good use of it, lounging on the broken down furniture, Falstaff himself resplendent in his underwear….
We felt the funniest scene takes place in the bedroom of Alice when Falstaff moves in to complete the seduction – unknowingly walking right into the trap the wives have set for him. Meanwhile her husband Ford (played by Richard Burkhard) arrives in search of his wife’s lover and chaos ensues!
Despite his failed attempt Falstaff is persuaded once more that Alice is still interested and is tricked again, this time into a meeting in the forest at midnight, here the whole town set out to teach him a lesson but eventually all is well and the Ford’s daughter, Nannetta, is betrothed to her true love Fenton.
We really enjoyed our night at the opera, the performances, sets, costumes and of course the orchestra all combined to give a fantastic performance, we’re already looking forward to our next production.
Rating: 5/5
Tickets cost from £21
For more information or to book tickets visit https://thelowry.com/ or call the box office on 0161 876 2000