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Sir John Falstaff is a fictional character who appears in three plays by William Shakespeare and is eulogised in a fourth. His significance as a fully developed character is primarily formed in the plays Henry IV, Part 1 and Part 2, where he is a companion to Prince Hal, the future King Henry V of England. Falstaff is also featured as the buffoonish suitor of two married women in The Merry Wives of Windsor. Though primarily a comic figure, Falstaff embodies a depth common to Shakespeare's major characters. A fat, vain, and boastful knight, he spends most of his time drinking at the Boar's Head Inn with petty criminals, living on stolen or borrowed money. Falstaff leads the apparently wayward Prince Hal into trouble, and is ultimately repudiated after Hal becomes king.
The Merry Wives of Windsor or Sir John Falstaff and the Merry Wives of Windsor is a comedy by William Shakespeare first published in 1602, though believed to have been written in or before 1597. The Windsor of the play's title is a reference to the town of Windsor, also the location of Windsor Castle in Berkshire, England. Though nominally set in the reign of Henry IV or early in the reign of Henry V, the play makes no pretence to exist outside contemporary Elizabethan-era English middle-class life. It features the character Sir John Falstaff, the fat knight who had previously been featured in Henry IV, Part 1 and Part 2. It has been adapted for the opera at least ten times. The play is one of Shakespeare's lesser-regarded works among literary critics. Tradition has it that The Merry Wives of Windsor was written at the request of Queen Elizabeth I. After watching Henry IV Part I, she asked Shakespeare to write a play depicting Falstaff in love.
Carl Otto Ehrenfried Nicolai was a German composer, conductor, and one of the founders of the Vienna Philharmonic. Nicolai is best known for his operatic version of Shakespeare's comedy The Merry Wives of Windsor as Die lustigen Weiber von Windsor. In addition to five operas, Nicolai composed lieder, works for orchestra, chorus, ensemble, and solo instruments.
Henry IV, Part 2 is a history play by William Shakespeare believed to have been written between 1596 and 1599. It is the third part of a tetralogy, preceded by Richard II and Henry IV, Part 1 and succeeded by Henry V.
The Merry Wives of Windsor is an opera in three acts by Otto Nicolai to a German libretto by Salomon Hermann Mosenthal based on the play of the same name by William Shakespeare.
Ancient Pistol is a swaggering soldier who appears in three plays by William Shakespeare. Although full of grandiose boasts about his prowess, he is essentially a coward. The character is introduced in Henry IV, Part 2, and he reappears in The Merry Wives of Windsor and Henry V.
Alexandra Gilbreath is an English actress, born in Chalfont St Giles, Buckinghamshire and trained at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.
Otto Karl Robert Wernicke was a German actor. He is best known for his role as police inspector Karl Lohmann in the two Fritz Lang films M and The Testament of Dr. Mabuse.
Frieda Hempel was a German lyric coloratura soprano singer in operatic and concert work who had an international career in Europe and the United States.
Claus Holm was a German film actor. He appeared in 50 films between 1943 and 1979. He was born in Bochum, Germany and died in Berlin, Germany.
Alexander Engel, birth name: Kurt Engel was a German film actor. He appeared in more than 70 films between 1932 and 1968. He was born in Berlin, Germany and died in Saarbrücken, West Germany. He chose the stage name "Alexander", to prevent confusion with the popular musician Kurt Engel.
Camilla Spira was a German film actress. She appeared in 68 films between 1924 and 1986. She was born in Hamburg, Germany, of Jewish ancestry on her father's side, and died in Berlin, Germany. Her father was the Austrian actor Fritz Spira who died in the Ruma concentration camp in 1943. Her mother was actress Lotte Spira and her sister was the East German actress Steffie Spira.
Marie Haupt was a German operatic soprano who had an active career during the latter half of the 19th century. She is best remembered today for portraying several roles in the first complete presentation of Richard Wagner's The Ring Cycle at the very first Bayreuth Festival in 1876.
The Merry Wives of Windsor is an English play by William Shakespeare which was first published in 1602.
The Merry Wives of Windsor is a 1950 East German musical comedy film directed by Georg Wildhagen. It was based on William Shakespeare's play by the same name.
Ina Halley was a German actress.
Corporal Nym is a fictional character who appears in two Shakespeare plays, The Merry Wives of Windsor and Henry V. He later appears in spin-off works by other writers. Nym is a soldier and criminal follower of Sir John Falstaff and a friend and rival of Ancient Pistol.
Falstaff in Vienna is a 1940 German musical comedy film directed by Leopold Hainisch and starring Hans Nielsen, Gusti Wolf and Paul Hörbiger. It portrays the life of the nineteenth century composer Otto Nicolai, known for works such as The Merry Wives of Windsor.
The Merry Wives of Windsor is a 1965 Austrian-British historical comedy film directed by Georg Tressler and starring Norman Foster, Colette Boky and Charles Igor Gorin.
The Merry Wives of Windsor is a 1910 silent short historical comedy based on the play by William Shakespeare directed by Francis Boggs and produced by the Selig Polyscope Company. Two cast members were Kathlyn Williams and Margarita Fischer.
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- ↑ Sammons p.87
