Summarize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs in Arabic Unlock the Editor\u2019s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.For half a century, Giorgio Strehler created some of the best-remembered opera productions of the 20th century at La Scala. Dreamy sets, clarity of gesture and meticulously calibrated lighting were trademarks of the director\u2019s poetic, profound style. Strehler died in 1997. Now, near the start of a season packed with new productions, the Milan theatre has revived his 1980 staging of Falstaff, Verdi\u2019s last opera and a crowning achievement of the comic genre.Inspired by Shakespeare, the libretto recounts the portly knight\u2019s efforts to seduce two married women, Alice Ford and Meg Page, in order to access their husbands\u2019 wealth. La Scala last presented Strehler\u2019s vision in 2004 and has since replaced it with two new productions \u2014 by Robert Carsen and Damiano Michieletto \u2014 that would both merit more years of service. In returning to the earlier staging, it has now had to recreate Ezio Frigerio\u2019s original scenes by consulting photographs and sketches. That the theatre has also invested in a first-rate cast indicates how seriously it takes tending the flame of Strehler\u2019s heritage.The staging displaces the action from Windsor to the flatlands of the lower Po Valley, the territory where Verdi was born and to which he had returned by the time he wrote Falstaff for its 1893 La Scala premiere. In director Marina Bianchi\u2019s hands, it remains an effective vehicle for choreographed pandemonium. Ford\u2019s home, here a country house, is a whirlwind of activity, Falstaff\u2019s pursuers frantically bursting onstage as the whimpering knight is bundled into a laundry basket by merry wives.The opera\u2019s intimate moments resonate most powerfully. In the secrecy of the Garter Inn, a shaded stable where sunlight streams through gaps in the brickwork to illuminate large wine barrels, Falstaff gives vent to his desires. Ford\u2019s daughter, Nannetta, and her suitor, Fenton, profess their love while canoodling on a hay cart set against a golden dusk \u2014 an enchanting visual accompaniment to the balmy wistfulness of Verdi\u2019s score.Since the towering baritone Ambrogio Maestri debuted as Falstaff at La Scala 24 years ago, he has become many opera houses\u2019 go-to singer for the role. On this occasion, the 55-year-old sounded past his prime, his leathery voice sometimes hard to hear over busy orchestral textures. Even so, much in Maestri\u2019s performance \u2014 his weary gait, nonchalant delivery of patter and sense of gleeful mischief \u2014 demonstrated that he still possesses the role like few others.With his large, burnished voice and astute comic timing, Luca Micheletti\u2019s blustering Ford was a fine counterpoint to Maestri\u2019s quick-witted Falstaff. Rosa Feola sang radiantly as Alice but sometimes lacked vim. There was winning chemistry between Juan Francisco Gatell\u2019s seductive Fenton and Rosalia Cid\u2019s coy Nannetta. Marianna Pizzolato\u2019s formidable Mistress Quickly raised hearty chuckles from the audience.Conductor Daniele Gatti drew subtle, elastic playing that was rich with detail, though greater abandon might have allowed the effervescent brilliance that underpins the comedy in Verdi\u2019s score to shine through. Still, the orchestra hung off the conductor\u2019s every gesture, a clear vote of confidence for the man whom many back to replace Riccardo Chailly as La Scala\u2019s music director from next year.\u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605\u2606To February 7, teatroallascala.org<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Summarize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs in Arabic Unlock the Editor\u2019s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.For half a century, Giorgio Strehler created some of the best-remembered opera productions of the 20th century at La Scala. Dreamy sets, clarity of gesture and<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":173526,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[65],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-173525","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-culture"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/173525","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=173525"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/173525\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":173527,"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/173525\/revisions\/173527"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/173526"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=173525"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=173525"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=173525"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}