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© Gran Teatre del Liceu
Falstaff
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July 2026 | ||||||
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Falstaff – Giuseppe Verdi
Lyric comedy in three acts.
Libretto by Arrigo Boito based on The Merry Wives of Windsor and Henry IV by William Shakespeare.
Approximate running time: 2 hours 40 minutes
The final morality of this bittersweet comedy in which Verdi displayed extraordinary vitality and surprising modernity in its musical structure.
Year 1893: Verdi, at the age of 80, attended the premiere of Falstaff at La Scala. As a major event, the audience included Princess Letizia Bonaparte and the Italian opera composers Pietro Mascagni and Giacomo Puccini. The composer himself took the stage to greet the audience, receiving ovations at the end of each act.
Verdi, with an extensive and exceptional career spanning nearly two-thirds of the 19th century, wanted to bid farewell with a great comic work: because his only previous attempt, Un giorno di regno (1840), was a major failure, as during the same period, his wife and two of his children passed away—circumstances hardly conducive to writing a comedy.
Verdi was a devotee of William Shakespeare's theatrical works. As a result of this admiration, he wrote two great masterpieces: Macbeth (1847) and Otello (1887), choosing Falstaff as the text for his next opera.
Only a genius of Giuseppe Verdi’s stature could bid farewell to lyric opera by exclaiming with sarcasm and wit: “Tutto nel mondo è burla” ("Everything in the world is a joke"): the final morality of this bittersweet comedy in which the composer displayed extraordinary vitality and surprising modernity in its musical structure.
The Boito-Verdi duo brings back an aging, hedonistic, and somewhat cowardly Sir John Falstaff, a former comrade-in-arms of the future Henry V of England, now surrendered to drinking, gluttony, lust, and bragging. Worn out, short of money, grotesque, and conceited, he nevertheless possesses a cynical wit and intelligence that grant him an irresistible charm. A caricature of Falstaff himself, he acts like a thief ready to deceive the weak and take advantage of the poor. He falls in love with Alice Ford and Meg Page, two young married women who enjoy fueling the old knight's desires to ridicule his attempts at seduction.
Laurent Pelly’s staging, set in the 20th century, ends with a mirror reflecting the audience itself as the final recipient of the grand fugue, inviting us to laugh at ourselves. With uncommon theatrical agility and unpredictable dramatic gestures, the production cleverly showcases both amusing and melancholic scenes.
The celebrated baritones Luca Salsi and Ambrogio Maestri will play the role of Falstaff, the autumnal knight cheerfully tormented by a trio of intelligent women, supported by a brilliant cast including Roberta Mantega (Alice), Daniela Barcellona (Mrs. Quickly), Serena Sáenz (Nanetta), Santiago Ballerini (Fenton), and Mattia Olivieri (Ford). An unforgettable score will be in the hands of Josep Pons, bidding farewell to the Liceu audience as principal conductor after 12 wonderful years in the role.
Falstaff, the last laugh of the old Verdi. A clumsy character of profound humanity, possessing the wisdom of those who have come to understand that many things we deem important are, in fact, not. We are all Falstaff! “We don’t want Falstaff to die. And, of course, he won’t. He is life itself.” – Harold Bloom
Program and cast
Sir John Falstaff - Luca Salsi | 9th, 12th, 15th, and 18th of July
Sir John Falstaff - Ambrogio Maestri | 10th, 13th, 16th, and 19th of July
Ford - Igor Golovatenko | 9th, 12th, 15th, and 18th of July
Ford - Lucas Meachem | 10th, 13th, 16th, and 19th of July
Fenton - César Cortés | 9th, 12th, 15th, and 18th of July
Fenton - Santiago Ballerini | 10th, 13th, 16th, and 19th of July
Doctor Cajus - Josep Fadó
Bardolfo - Pablo García-López
Pistola - Alessio Cacciamani
Sra. Alice Ford - Roberta Mantegna | 9th, 12th, 15th, and 18th of July
Sra. Alice Ford - Carolina López Moreno | 10th, 13th, 16th, and 19th of July
Nannetta - Serena Sáenz | 9th, 12th, 15th, and 18th of July
Nannetta - Maria Miró | 10th, 13th, 16th, and 19th of July
Sra. Quickly - Daniela Barcellona | 9th, 12th, 15th, and 18th of July
Sra. Quickly - Marianna Pizzolato | 10th, 13th, 16th, and 19th of July
Sra. Meg Page - Gemma Coma-Alabert | 9th, 12th, 15th, and 18th of July
Sra. Meg Page - Laura Vila | 10th, 13th, 16th, and 19th of July
Stage direction and costumes - Laurent Pelly
Set design - Barbara de Limburg
Lighting - Joël Adam
Production - Teatro Real de Madrid
Choir of the Gran Teatre del Liceu
Conductor: Pablo Assante
Symphonic Orchestra of the Gran Teatre del Liceu - Josep Pons
Gran Teatre del Liceu
Barcelona's opera house, the Gran Teatre del Liceu, was founded on the Rambla in 1847 and has continued over the years to fulfil its role as a culture and arts centre and one of the symbols of the city.
Today it is publicly-owned (by the Government of Catalonia, Barcelona City Council, Barcelona Provincial Council and the Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte) and administered by the Fundació del Gran Teatre del Liceu which, in addition to the aforementioned bodies, incorporates the Patronage Council and the Societat del Gran Teatre del Liceu (the old society of owners).
Origins: From 1837 to 1847
The Liceu evolved out of the Sociedad Dramática de Aficionados (Society of theatre-lovers) set up in 1837 at the instigation of Manuel Gibert in the former convent of Montsió by members of the National Militia, an organization of armed citizens with liberal leanings.
Barcelona's economy and population were growing fast at the time and the city needed a music conservatory. This led to the conversion of the Sociedad Dramática into the Liceo Filármonico Dramático Barcelonés de S.M. la Reina Isabel II (Barcelona Dramatic and Philharmonic Lyceum of HM Queen Isabel II). In addition to its theatrical activities, the new organization cultivated Italian-style singing and music.
The building on the Rambla
The original building was solemnly opened on 4 April 1847. The plans had been drawn up by Miquel Garriga i Roca, subsequently assisted by Josep Oriol Mestres. The project was funded by selling shares, which meant that many of the boxes and seats were to be privately owned. The shareholders formed the Societat del Gran Teatre del Liceu, known as the “Societat de Propietaris” (Society of Owners), which was in sole charge of running the Gran Teatre del Liceu from 1855 onwards, after it was legally separated from the Conservatori del Gran Teatre del Liceu.
The theatre was operated by impresarios who were given a concession to stage a specific number of productions in exchange for the proceeds from the sale of tickets not reserved for the Societat itself. This system was to endure until 1980.
The creation of the Consortium
By the last quarter of the 20th century this management system was no longer viable. In 1980, to avert the danger of the disappearance of an institution of such worldwide cultural renown, the Generalitat Catalonia's first government in modern times – set up a consortium, the Consorci del Gran Teatre del Liceu, which also incorporated Barcelona City Council and the Societat del Gran Teatre del Liceu. Barcelona Provincial Council joined the Consortium in 1985, followed by the Spanish Ministry of Culture in 1986. From then on the Consortium took over operation of the theatre.
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