An enthusiastic audience relished Verdi’s Falstaff, which was set in a brand new Portland Opera production to take place at an exclusive golf club sometime in the 1980s. Plenty of laughter filled Keller Auditorium on opening night (May 10) with baritone Darren Drone in the title role. Stage direction by David Radamés Toro complemented David Murakami’s projections to enhance the production, which worked very well on the whole but would benefit from some adjustments.

Using the Merry Wives of Windsor and the first two parts of Henry IV, Verdi and librettist Arrigo Boito concocted Falstaff by sculpting Shakespeare’s plays so that operagoers could enjoy the farce of a plump but cash-strapped knight whose quest for money leads him to vie for the love of two married women: Alice Ford and Meg Page. But the ladies turn the tables on him as well as on Alice’s jealous and controlling husband, Ford, so that Alice and Ford’s daughter Nanetta can marry her beloved Fenton rather than the old man, Dr. Caius, that her father preferred.

Right from the opening of the opera, imagery of old money country clubs was projected on columns of large scrims, which extended from the fly down to the stage floor. The projections worked very well to set the scenes, but the best visual of all was of Falstaff, dunked in the swimming pool while dressed in his garish finest and making his way to the surface. That was pure genius.

The scenes at the country club’s bar and poolside had just enough differentiation to set them apart, but the most problematic scene took place in the clubhouse sauna (Scene 1 of Act III). It began just fine with Falstaff and his wingmen: Pistola and Bardolfo, wrapped in towels. However, it became absurd when Dame Quickly appeared in the sauna in her normal dress. Later Alice Ford and Meg Page entered the sauna also in their usual outfits and big hairdos. If there had been a way to suggest another location in the club, that might have improved things.

The scene in which Falstaff hid in a very large laundry basket suffered a bit because it took place on the far-right side of the stage. If there had been a way to get the basket closer to the center, it would have been funnier. 

Drone embodied Falstaff to the fullest extent possible. His singing had enough heft to be easily heard above the 62-piece orchestra, even when it pushed the volume level to the max. Varying his voice from stentorian to a girlish whisper, Drone mined all sorts of nuances in the text. He also had the requisite girth for the pretentious but loveable lothario, and with deft timing, generated loads of laughter from all corners of the house. 

Soprano Kearstin Piper Brown as Alice Ford expertly enticed and fended off Falstaff’s advances, garnishing each moment with a knowing glee. Mezzo-soprano Erin Roth Thomas complemented her in the role of Meg Page, and mezzo-soprano Rehanna Thelwell had just the right amount of seasoning as Dame Quickly.

Sponsor

Baritone Stephen Gaertner’s Ford fumed with frustration. Emma Petersen’s lovely soprano embraced the youthful ardor of Ford’s daughter Nanetta, and was outstanding as the Fairy Queen in the final scene. Yi Li’s opulent tenor had plenty of gusto to convey Fenton’s love of Nanetta, superbly sung in his aria “Dal labbro il canto estasïato vola” (From my lips my song of ecstasy flies).

Falstaff’s sidekicks Bardolfo and Pistola added to the fun with tenor Nathaniel Catasca and baritone Matthew Maisano in those roles respectively. Tenor John Boelling acted the role of Caius with verve, but unfortunately his voice could often not be heard above the orchestra. 

Conducted by Nicholas Fox, the orchestra sounded better than ever, generating several glorious Wagnerian crescendos, and the chorus, expertly prepared by Fox made the most of the final scene in the country club’s garden where Falstaff as well as Ford experienced their comeuppance. 

Costume designer Sydney Gallas had a field day with the outfits for this production. Falstaff’s getups were perfectly matched to colorful and over-the-top personality. The lighting designs of Nic Vincent enhanced each scene, and one can only guess how much hair spray was necessary for the elaborate coiffures that some of the ladies wore.

The main thing missing in this production was a larger audience.  There were too many vacant seats on the main floor of Keller Auditorium, and that does not bode well for future operatic performances there. In spite of a few shortcomings, this production of Falstaff deserved a bigger house, and right now, our world needs more laughter. As Falstaff and company sang at the very end of the opera: “Ma ride ben chi ride, La risata final” (But he laughs best who has the last laugh).