Fathom Events to present the Metropolitan Opera's live transmission of Verdi's comedy Falstaff to cinemas nationwide on Saturday, April 1, at 12:30PM ET

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Mar 29, 2023, 10:07 ET

Maestro Daniele Rustioni conducts a superb cast led by baritone Michael Volle in his first Verdi role at the Met

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DENVER, March 29, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Verdi's exuberant final opera, Falstaff, brought down the house with laughter and applause at its opening on Sunday, March 12, and audiences across the country are invited to experience the production live in cinemas through Fathom Events this Saturday, April 1, at 12:30PM ET as part of The Met: Live in HD series.

Baritone Michael Volle sings the title character, his first Verdi role at the Met after several masterful Wagner performances at the house, creating a "deliciously undignified" Falstaff and a "booming, endlessly interesting antihero" (The New York Times).

Alongside Volle, soprano Ailyn Pérez, in her Live in HD debut, is Alice Ford; mezzo-soprano Jennifer Johnson Cano is Meg Page; and contralto Marie-Nicole Lemieux is Mistress Quickly. In addition, soprano Hera Hyesang Park sings Nannetta, alongside tenor Bogdan Volkov as Fenton and baritone Christopher Maltman as Ford, all making their Met role debuts. Maestro Daniele Rustioni conducts.

Falstaff largely follows the plot of Shakespeare's The Merry Wives of Windsor, with some additional material drawn from the Bard's Henry IV, Part 1 and Henry IV, Part 2.

Director Robert Carsen, whose acclaimed production premiered at the Met in 2013, sets the action in England of the 1950s. The creative team also includes set designer Paul Steinberg, costume designer Brigitte Reiffenstuel, and lighting designers Robert Carsen and Peter Van Praet.

Habib Azar directs the Live in HD presentation. Bass-baritone Ryan Speedo Green, star of Terence Blanchard's Champion, serves as the host, sharing exclusive behind-the-scenes access during the intermission.

Fathom Events will also present encores of Falstaff on Wednesday, April 5, at 1:00PM and 6:30PM, local time.

Tickets for Falstaff are on sale through the Fathom Events website and participating theater box offices. For a complete list of theater locations, visit fathomevents.com (participating theaters are subject to change). Visit your local theater website for the most up-to-date information related to their health-and safety measures.

PRESS QUOTES

NYT Critic's Pick
"Robert Carsen's winning production … looks fresh and earns the kind of enthusiastic laughter rarely heard in an opera house …Volle has shown himself to be a Wagnerian of long, graceful focus. As Falstaff, he puts the noble grain of his voice to deliciously undignified use."
—The New York Times

"A superb cast brings out the comic ingenuity of Verdi's swan song in Met's 'Falstaff.'"
—New York Classical Review

THE STARS OF FALSTAFF

Daniele Rustioni, conductor; Milan, Italy
Michael Volle, Falstaff; Freudenstadt, Germany
Ailyn Pérez, Alice Ford; Chicago, Illinois
Marie-Nicole Lemieux, Mistress Quickly; Dolbeau-Mistassini, Canada
Jennifer Johnson Cano, Meg Page; St. Louis, Missouri
Hera Hyesang Park, Nannetta; Seoul, South Korea
Bogdan Volkov, Fenton; Torez, Ukraine
Christopher Maltman, Ford; Cleethorpes, England