Falstaff

Sat., Nov. 21, 7:30 p.m., $45, Central Bucks South High School, 1100 Folly Road, Warrington; Mon., Nov. 23, 7:30 p.m., $48, Haverford School, 450 W. Lancaster Ave., Haverford; 215-735-1685, avaopera.org.


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Published: Nov 18, 2009

opera

Even when Giuseppe Verdi was not directly adopting Shakespeare for the operatic stage, his work was Shakespearean in dramatic depth and characterization. He did draw directly from the Bard as often as any composer, including his first true masterwork, Macbeth. The winter of his career saw two giant creations — Otello in 1887, and Falstaff, based on The Merry Wives of Windsor, in 1893, when the great man was nearly 80 years old. It's a comedy, but a classical one, at one moment laugh-out-loud funny, and on the turn of a pin, heartbreaking.

Sat., Nov. 21, 7:30 p.m., $45, Central Bucks South High School, 1100 Folly Road, Warrington; Mon., Nov. 23, 7:30 p.m., $48, Haverford School, 450 W. Lancaster Ave., Haverford; 215-735-1685, avaopera.org.