Falstaff: Komische Oper Berlin

About the Event

Experience opera like never before in this astonishing performance of Verdi's masterwork at Berlin's remarkable Komische Oper Berlin.

Giuseppe Verdi's Commedia lirica in three acts [1893]
Libretto by Arrigo Boito

Co‐production with the Festival d'Aix‐en‐Provence and the Opéra National de Lyon

Full‐bodied lust for life meets a search for meaning! With his last masterpiece, written at the age of almost 80, Giuseppe Verdi not only breathed new life into the genre of Italian opera comedy, but also revolutionized the genre virtually off the cuff and opened it up for the 20th century.

Komische Oper Berlin

The Komische Oper Berlin is a member of the Berlin Opera Foundation based in namesake opera house. The theatre survived numerous ups and downs: it was first opened in 1892 but had to close four years later due to bankruptcy. In 1898 it reopened and became Berlin’s most popular variety theatre, but closed again in 1933.

The building was almost entirely destroyed during World War II and was completely reconstructed in the 1960s with an austere and inconspicuous exterior. Open to all, the unexpected neo‐baroque splendour when entering the building sets the right mood for a classical theatre experience. The primary repertoire of the Komische Oper is operettas and German‐language opera, however grand baroque operas and musicals are also staged here.

Practical Information

Opera in Italian language.

Cast / Production

Production: Barrie Kosky
Stage design and costumes: Katrin Lea Day
Dramaturgy: Olaf A. Schmitt, Maximilian Hagemeyer
Choruses: David Cavelius
Lighting: Franck Evin

Sir John Falstaff: Scott Hendricks
Ford: Günter Papendell
Fenton: Caspar Singh
Dr. Cajus: Johannes Dunz
Bardolfo: Timothy Oliver
Pistola: Seth Carico
Mrs. Alice Ford: Yaritza Véliz
Nannetta: Penny Sofroniadou
Mrs. Quickly: Agnes Zwierko
Mrs. Meg Page: Deniz Uzun

The orchestra of the Komische Oper Berlin plays.