Excerpt
As the wives of the title, Teresa Ingrilli (Frau Fluth) and Maria Woolford (Frau Reich) were outstanding. Verdi might have put Falstaff at the centre of his opera but for Nicolai it is Frau Fluth. The Falstaff stories can appear problematic because the characters often seem so mean-spirited. The wives play cruel tricks on Falstaff, who is a gluttonous lecher; Herr Fluth is jealous and prone to violence; Herr Reich is all about money and doesn’t care about his daughter Anna’s marital happiness; Anna’s heart rules her head and she is devious; Fenton, her love interest, doesn’t appear to have much going for him except being an ardent but broke bloke, and her other two suitors are avaricious and all about themselves.
And yet, in this production the positive spirit shone through. It was a romp. This was in no small part due to Teresa Ingrilli. Not only did she sing beautifully – plenty of vibrant “ping” in the middle of the voice and a fabulous satin-smooth top register. She also relished the fun of every moment. In a remarkably focused performance, she seemed to act like a gravitational force that ensured a generous-spirited outcome.
Maria Woolford was a gentler foil to Ingrilli’s dynamic performance. Her appealing mezzo-soprano voice and personal warmth conveyed a calmer character, but without any loss of vitality or sense of engagement. Their first duet, as the outraged wives compared the identical love letters sent by Falstaff, set an exceptionally high standard for the whole performance.