The opéra-comique "Falstaff" at the 73rd Festival d'Aix
Audio 03:15
"Falstaff" by Verdi.
Directed by Barrie Kosky.
Musical direction by Daniele Rustioni.
© Monika Rittershaus / Festival d'Aix-en-Provence 2021
By: Carmen Lunsmann
9 mins
Make way for opera and laughter!
After its cancellation last year due to the health crisis, the Aix-en-Provence International Festival of Lyrical Art is showing the only true opéra-comique by Italian composer Guiseppe Verdi.
Falstaff
, the last of his 27 operas, comes to life under the starry sky of the Théâtre de l'Archevêché in a staging full of humor and ingenuity, concocted by Australian Barrie Kosky.
Publicity
What looks oddly like an episode of the
Top Chef
show
is nothing other than the new production of
Falstaff
, the lyrical testament of Verdi revisited by the Australian Barrie Kosky, in a staging of the most ridiculous for the Aix-en-Provence Festival.
“
Verdi has built his career out of dark and pessimistic stories and characters,” he
says
.
Revenge, madness, death, destruction, darkness.
And suddenly, at the age of 80, at the end of his career when he dominated the entire Italian lyric scene, even European of the nineteenth century, he wrote an opera that is already stepping into the twentieth century - as well. both musically and dramaturgically.
And he takes one of Shakespeare's greatest figures and turns it into an opera about love, about life, about joy and laughter.
"
At the Théâtre de l'Archevêché, laughter sets in as soon as the curtain rises, which offers a breathtaking view of a kitchen and its chef.
A Falstaff who gives himself to their heart's content - bare buttocks under his apron - preparing succulent dishes.
The story of this old seducer - a penniless knight trapped in the wake of his own tricks by two wealthy gossips - unfolds under a fireworks display of crazy ideas and hilarious acts.
Featuring cuckold horns in the form of chewable chopsticks and an impressive collection of wigs, against a backdrop of whimsical decor between candy pink and pistachio green.
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French baritone Stéphane Degout mimics the jealous husband in this earthy comedy. "
We are in something timeless contemporary, a small provincial town as is the case in Shakespeare," he
explains
. We are in Windsor, not in 15th century England, something more Mediterranean, a little warmer, perhaps which simply corresponds to Provence, in a small village where everyone watches each other, where everyone world is a little crazy. We are really on the side of comedy, of farce and in the staging, there is panache, there is a lot of energy, something extremely rhythmic, great precision of gestures, looks, intentions - all in the tempo of the music
. "
Music that gallops and sparkles in a timeless fairyland and reminds us - like Verdi at the time - that “
the world is a farce;
you have to laugh in order not to die.
- In any case, it's a nice snub,
I hope, at the end of this crisis which has lasted for a year and a half which has turned us all,
concludes Stéphane Degout.
It feels good to be there and we're going to end up at the table all together because that's really all there is to it.
"
Falstaff
by Verdi in the production of Barrie Kosky until July 15 in the open air at the Théâtre de l'Archevêché.
The
73rd Festival d'Aix-en-Provence
continues its programming until July 25.
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