FALSTAFF, a lyric comedy in three acts, by Giuseppe Verdi (libretto by Arrigo Boito, based on Shakespeare's 4 Merry Wives of Wind sor)), first produced at Milan 9 Feb. 1893. While it is popularly assumed that the last work of a creative artist is the greatest, this is by no means a safe rule to apply. In Verdi's case, however, it holds true; and to call 'Fal staff' his masterpiece is but another way of saying that it is the greatest operatic work •that has come out of Italy. Its freshness and vigor would have been remarkable in a young man. As the creative effort of a man of 80, it is without precedent in the annals of art. In Boito, Verdi found a perfect helpmate. His adaptation of the Shakespearian comedy is mas terly and an ideal vehicle for musical treat ment. It is arranged in three acts, each with two contrasted scenes. The Shakespearian spirit is admirably preserved, in spite of the necessary condensation of the original. Verdi applied himself to a grateful task with all the strength of his mature powers, with a technique that had grown equal to the highest demands of modern musical development, with a keen sense of delicious humor that here found an ample outlet, and with a surprising spontaneity of in vention. That he had not remained untouched by the great expansion of emotional expression in music, for which Wagner was largely respon sible, he had already demonstrated in 'Aida' and 'Othello,' the operas immediately preced ing. But it would be a mistake to infer that he had succumbed to the Wagnerian influence. Mozart is the master whom in 'Falstaff' Verdi most strongly recalls — Mozart, the clear-eyed, the buoyant, the free-spirit in musk. But Ver di's music is stamped with his own hall-mark from first page to last. It is difficult to refrain
from superlatives in discussing 'Falstaff.' It is one of those works, which, on each fresh study, yields new beauties at every turn. The orches tra speaks as one instrument, flexible and ex pressive, to a degree never surpassed and, in deed, rarely attained. The outstanding char acteristic is the irrepressible, rollicking humor, which informs the entire work. It would be fruitless to single out separate parts,— the scenes between Falstaff and his followers, Bar dolph and Pistol, his discourse on "honor* (drawn by Boito from 'Henry IV'), the en sembles first of the men, then of the women and then of the two groups together, with fine love episodes between Nan and Fenton worked in and Falstaff's song to Mistress Ford "Quand 'ero paggio,') are a few taken at random. There are no set arias or pieces, only a con tinuous stream of music. The richest part is the second half of the last act, with its exquisite tone painting and imaginative beauty, reflecting the spirit of the forest and the fairies and sounding a note that was positively new to Italy. As though to show how completely he has mastered all technical problems, Verdi brings the opera to an end with a big choral fugue, a veritable tour de force, the intricacies of which are entirely submerged in the beauty of symphonic and dramatic effect. Victor Maurel was the original "fat knight,° and he brought to American audiences also his fine portrayal of the part in the first production in this country on 4 Feb. 1895. Balfe also wrote an opera 'Falstaff,' first produced in London 19 July 1838; but it is to-day merely a name.