This is a discography of Giuseppe Verdi's last opera, Falstaff . It was first performed at La Scala, Milan, on 9 February 1893.
The "Operadis" discography lists more than seventy other recordings, made at live performances. They include those conducted by Sir Thomas Beecham at the Metropolitan Opera in 1944 with Leonard Warren in the title role; [4] Fritz Reiner with Warren at the Met (1948); [5] Victor de Sabata with Mariano Stabile at La Scala (1951); [6] Karajan and Gobbi at the Salzburg Festival (1957); [7] Tullio Serafin with Gobbi at the Chicago Lyric Opera (1958); [8] Lorin Maazel and Walter Berry at the Vienna State Opera (1983); [9] James Levine and Paul Plishka at the Met (1992); [10] Riccardo Muti and Juan Pons at La Scala (1993); [11] Solti and José van Dam in Berlin (1993); [12] and Zubin Mehta and Ruggero Raimondi at the Teatro Comunale, Florence (2006). [13]
In October 1978 Solti conducted the soundtrack for Götz Friedrich's 1979 film of Falstaff. The recording, made by Decca in the Sofiensaal. Vienna, with the Deutsche Oper Berlin Chorus, the Vienna State Opera Chorus, and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, featured Gabriel Bacquier as Falstaff, Richard Stilwell as Ford, Max-René Cosotti as Fenton, Karan Armstrong as Alice Ford, Jutta-Renate Ihloff as Nanetta and Márta Szirmay as Mistress Quickly. [3]
Falstaff is a comic opera in three acts by the Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian-language libretto was adapted by Arrigo Boito from the play The Merry Wives of Windsor and scenes from Henry IV, Part 1 and Part 2, by William Shakespeare. The work premiered on 9 February 1893 at La Scala, Milan.
La Scala is a historic opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as il Nuovo Regio Ducale Teatro alla Scala. The premiere performance was Antonio Salieri's Europa riconosciuta.
Riccardo Muti is an Italian conductor. He currently holds two music directorships, at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and at the Orchestra Giovanile Luigi Cherubini. Muti has previously held posts at the Maggio Musicale in Florence, the Philharmonia Orchestra in London, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Teatro alla Scala in Milan, and the Salzburg Whitsun Festival.
Renata Tebaldi was an Italian lirico-spinto soprano popular in the post-war period, and especially prominent as one of the stars of La Scala, San Carlo and, especially, the Metropolitan Opera. Often considered among the great opera singers of the 20th century, she focused primarily on the verismo roles of the lyric and dramatic repertoires. Italian conductor Arturo Toscanini called her voice "la voce d'angelo", and La Scala music director Riccardo Muti called her "one of the greatest performers with one of the most extraordinary voices in the field of opera."
Tito Gobbi was an Italian operatic baritone with an international reputation.
Helen Jeanette Donath is an American soprano with a career spanning fifty years.
Jonathan Stewart Vickers,, known professionally as Jon Vickers, was a Canadian heldentenor.
Ayşe Leyla Gencer was a Turkish operatic soprano.
Piero Cappuccilli was an Italian operatic baritone. Best known for his interpretations of Verdi roles, he was widely regarded as one of the finest Italian baritones of the second half of the 20th century. He was enormously admired within the field of opera for his rich and abundant voice, fine vocal technique and exceptional breath control. In the great Italian tradition he fused words and music into elegant phrases. He focused on Italian repertory, particularly the operas of Verdi, singing 17 major roles.
Victor Alberto de Sabata was an Italian conductor and composer. He is widely recognized as one of the most distinguished operatic conductors of the twentieth century, especially for his Verdi, Puccini and Wagner.
Tullio Serafin was an Italian conductor and former Musical Director at La Scala.
Giuseppe Taddei was an Italian baritone, who, during his career, performed multiple operas composed by numerous composers.
Giorgio Zancanaro is an Italian baritone, particularly associated with the Italian repertory, especially Verdi.
Joan Pons Álvarez is a Spanish operatic baritone, known internationally as Juan Pons. He is most famous for his Verdi roles.
Gianluca Cascioli is an Italian pianist, conductor, and composer.
Oralia Dominguez was a Mexican operatic mezzo soprano who performed at many of the world's leading opera houses.
Carlo Colombara is an Italian operatic bass. He has sung leading roles in many major opera houses including Teatro alla Scala ; the Vienna State Opera ; the Real Teatro di San Carlo ; the Arena di Verona ; the Royal Opera House, and the Metropolitan Opera.
This is an audio and video discography of the Vienna Philharmonic orchestra. Founded in 1842, the orchestra has a long history of recording music dating back to 1905.
Ain Anger is an Estonian opera bass.
Svetla Vassileva is a Bulgarian opera singer (soprano).
Notes
Sources