* Falstaff ( 1893 ), Giuseppe Verdi's last opera, with a libretto by Arrigo Boito.

Falstaff is an operatic commedia lirica in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi, adapted by Arrigo Boito from Shakespeare's plays The Merry Wives of Windsor and scenes from Henry IV.

* 1893: Falstaff by Giuseppe Verdi

Arrigo Boito (; 24 February 184210 June 1918 ), aka Enrico Giuseppe Giovanni Boito, pseudonym Tobia Gorrio, was an Italian poet, journalist, novelist and composer, best known today for his libretti, especially those for Giuseppe Verdi's operas Otello and Falstaff, and his own opera Mefistofele.

He first achieved national recognition playing Ford in Giuseppe Verdi's Falstaff.

* February 9-Première of Giuseppe Verdi's final opera Falstaff in La Scala in Milan

* Giuseppe Verdi — Falstaff

* Giuseppe Verdi's last opera, Falstaff, with a libretto by Arrigo Boito, is based on the play, although, as with most operas adapted from the theatre, there are significant differences as to characters and plot.

In 1935, under Edgar Bainton ( Director 1934 – 48 ), the Conservatorium Opera School was founded, later performing works such as Giuseppe Verdi's Falstaff and Othello, Richard Wagner's Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg and Die Walküre, and Claude Debussy's Pelléas et Mélisande, among others.

She appeared as Zerlina in Don Giovanni, at the Aix-en-Provence Festival and made her recording debut for EMI as Nannetta ( Falstaff ) under Herbert von Karajan, and as Musetta in La Bohème with Maria Callas, Giuseppe di Stefano and Rolando Panerai.

** Ford, Falstaff ( Giuseppe Verdi )

Known as the " Voce del leone " (" voice of the lion "), he was greatly admired, even by rival baritones, such as Giuseppe De Luca, who said of Ruffo: " His was not a voice, it was a miracle " ( although not often published is the second part of De Luca's conclusion "... which he bawled away ..."), and Victor Maurel, the creator of Verdi's Iago and Falstaff.

While it has not proved to be as immensely popular as the Verdi works that immediately preceded it, namely Aida and Otello, Falstaff has long been an admired favorite with critics and musicians because of its brilliant orchestration, scintillating libretto and refined melodic invention.

Verdi directing the rehearsals of Falstaff

* Fenton, Falstaff ( Verdi )

One of the best known Italian Verdi baritones of the 1920s and ' 30s, Mariano Stabile, sang Iago and Rigoletto and Falstaff ( at La Scala ) under the baton of Arturo Toscanini.

* Mrs Quickly, Falstaff ( Verdi )

* Falstaff ( Verdi ; 1893 )

He was renowned for his affinity with the works of Verdi, notably his breakthrough role of Ford in Falstaff, Simon Boccanegra in Simon Boccanegra and Iago in Otello.

In his will, he left his baton to his protégée Herva Nelli, who sang in the broadcasts of Otello, Aïda, Falstaff, the Verdi Requiem, and Un ballo in maschera.

* Verdi, Falstaff ( 1937, Salzburg Festival with restored sound on the Andante label ; 1950 NBC broadcast )

* Verdi: Falstaff ( Sweet, Lopardo, Panerai, Titus ; C. Davis, 1991 ) RCA

* Verdi: Falstaff ( Freni, Bonney, Lopardo, Plishka ; Levine, Zeffirelli, 1992 ) Deutsche Grammophon

** Sir Colin Davis ( conductor ); Carlos Alvarez, Bülent Bezdüz, Marina Domashenko, Jane Henschel, Ana Ibarra, Maria Josè Moreno & Michele Pertusi ; James Mallinson ( producer ) ( London Symphony Chorus ; London Symphony Orchestra ) for Verdi: Falstaff

* Verdi: Falstaff ( Schwarzkopf ; Karajan, 1956 ) EMI

* Verdi, Falstaff, with Leonard Bernstein

** Verdi: Falstaff, Carlo Maria Giulini conducting ( Deutsche Grammophon )

* Nannetta, Falstaff ( Verdi )

Although his international fame was almost entirely in the German repertoire, in Germany and Austria he was also known for performing Verdi in the vernacular and was, for example a popular Falstaff and a formidable Grand Inquisitor in Don Carlos, a role he performed in Italian in several theatres as well, including a breathtaking performance at the Metropolitan Opera in New York.

As sources, Shakespeare's plays provided Verdi with lifelong inspiration: some, such as King Lear were never realized but he wrote his two final operas using Othello as the basis for Otello ( 1887 ) and The Merry Wives of Windsor as the basis for Falstaff ( 1893 ).

* Verdi: Falstaff ( under Carlo Maria Giulini, 1982 ) ( Deutsche Grammophon )

Verdi would not attempt another operatic comedy until the end of his career with Falstaff.

Since 1944 he has also conducted regularly at the San Francisco Opera, where he made his debut with a memorable performance of Verdi's Falstaff.

His late opera based on William Shakespeare's The Merry Wives of Windsor, Falstaff ossia Le tre burle ( Falstaff, or the Three Tricks ), ( 1799 ) has found a wider audience in modern times than its original reception promised.

Since 2000, there have also been complete recordings issued or re-issued of the operas Axur Re d ' Ormus, Falstaff, Les Danaïdes, La Locandiera, La grotta di Trofonio, Prima la musica e poi le parole and Il mondo alla rovescia.

His operas Falstaff ( 1995 production ) and Tarare ( 1987 production ) have been released on DVD.

Sir John Falstaff is a fictional character who appears in three plays by William Shakespeare.

In the two Henry IV plays, he is a companion to Prince Hal, the future King Henry V. A fat, vain, boastful, and cowardly knight, Falstaff leads the apparently wayward Prince Hal into trouble, and is ultimately repudiated after Hal becomes king.

Falstaff also appears in The Merry Wives of Windsor.

Though primarily a comic figure, Falstaff still embodies a kind of depth common to Shakespeare's tricky comedy.

However, many stage and film adaptations have seen it necessary to include Falstaff for the insight he provides into King Henry V's character.

* Orson Welles's Chimes at Midnight ( 1966 ) compiles the two Henry IV plays into a single, condensed storyline, while adding a handful of scenes from Richard II and Henry V. The movie, also known as Falstaff, features Welles himself in the title role.

* Falstaff ( 1799 ), Antonio Salieri's opera, with a libretto by Carlo Prospero Defranceschi, which is also based upon The Merry Wives of Windsor.

* Falstaff ( 1913 ), a " symphonic study " by Elgar, which is a sympathetic and programmatic musical portrait.

* The novel Falstaff by Robert Nye.

It is generally believed that Shakespeare originally named Falstaff " John Oldcastle ", and that Lord Cobham, a descendant of the historical John Oldcastle, complained, forcing Shakespeare to change the name.

The historical Oldcastle was unlike Falstaff ; in particular, he was a Lollard who was executed for his beliefs, and he was respected by many Protestants as a martyr.

It is not clear, however, if Shakespeare characterized Falstaff as he did for dramatic purposes, or because of a specific desire to satirize Oldcastle or the Cobhams.

In the play, the paranoid, jealous Master Ford uses the alias " Brook " to fool Falstaff, perhaps in reference to William Brooke.

If you be not too much cloyed with fat meat, our humble author will continue the story, with Sir John in it, and make you merry with fair Katharine of France where, for any thing I know, Falstaff shall die of a sweat, unless already a ' be killed with your hard opinions ; for Oldcastle died a martyr, and this is not the man.

It has been suggested that the dissolute writer Robert Greene may also have been an inspiration for the character of Falstaff.

Notorious for a life of dissipation and debauchery somewhat similar to Falstaff, he was among the first to mention Shakespeare in his work ( in Greene's Groats-Worth of Wit ), suggesting to Greenblatt that the older writer may have influenced Shakespeare's characterization.

In Stratford-upon-Avon, the owners of Shrieves House, the former Three Tunns Tavern and now a museum, claim William Shakespeare based the character Falstaff on William Rogers, one of the Sargeants of the mace and close friend of the Shakespeares.