Falstaff
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Falstaff

Falstaff

Royal Opera House, London, WC2E 9DD
  • Robert Carsen's production of Verdi's masterful comic opera, Falstaff is filled with wit, humour and joie de vivre.
    Old, large and lecherous, Sir John Falstaff can't resist the ladies. But they can resist him, and three of them plot to put an end to his advances once and for all.
    Giuseppe Verdi's final opera tells the tale of a portly knight with an irrepressible appetite for life, love and laughter. Falstaff crowned a career that spanned more than fifty years. Arrigo Boito – with whom Verdi also collaborated on Otello and the revisions for Simon Boccanegra – created a sparkling libretto based on Shakespeare's The Merry Wives of Windsor and Henry IV Parts I and II. Verdi matched the libretto’s sprightliness with a score full of quicksilver switches in mood and tempo. Falstaff had its premiere in Milan in 1893 when Verdi was 79 and was instantly hailed as a masterpiece.
    Robert Carsen's production is set in 1950s England and draws out the warmth, love of food and comedy at the heart of the opera. Falstaff moves from comic intrigue, as the 'merry wives' outmanoeuvre the scheming men, to tender romance and infectious merriment. Musical highlights include Falstaff's monologue in Act I in which he mocks honour, Fenton's lovestruck sonnet in Act III, the wives’ jubilant plotting ensembles and the final – sublime – fugue in praise of laughter.
    At the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden from 7 to 21 July 2018, book your Falstaff tickets today!
    Please note: Sung in Italian with English surtitles.
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    Please note that if you choose tickets to be delivered via the Post for this event, please take your theatre vouchers to the Royal Opera House box office on the day of the event so they can be exchanged for ROH tickets prior to the performance time.

    All tickets are subject to Royal Opera House Terms & Conditions of sale:
    1.    Refunds cannot be given unless a performance has been cancelled;
    2.    The Royal Opera House reserves the right o make alterations to the published programme without prior notice;
    3.    Tickets are non-transferable. Patrons with tickets purchased from unauthorised sellers may be refused entry:
    4.    The Royal Opera House reserves the right to provide alternative seats to those specified on the ticket;
    5.    Latecomers will not be admitted until a suitable break or interval;
    6.    The use of cameras and recording equipment is strictly forbidden;
    7.    The Royal Opera House reserves the right to refuse admission.

    The magnificent Royal Opera House, with its grand classical portico fronting Bow Street, is actually the third theatre built on the Covent Garden site. Both the previous theatres were destroyed by fire, a serious hazard in the era before electricity.

    Actor-manager John Rich built the first Theatre Royal, Covent Garden with the fortune he had made from the huge success of The Beggar’s Opera. At that time, under the terms of a Royal Patent, Covent Garden was only one of two theatres permitted to perform drama in the capital. The other patent theatre was the nearby Theatre Royal Drury Lane, and a keen rivalry soon developed between them.

    The first important musical works to be heard at the theatre were by Handel, who, from 1735 until his death in 1759, had close links with Covent Garden both as composer and organist. Many of his operas and oratorios, including Alcina and Semele, were first performed there, and he left his theatre organ to John Rich. Extensive rebuilding work took place in 1787 and 1792, but in 1808 the theatre was completely destroyed by fire with the loss of twenty-three fireman as the building collapsed.

    Work on a new theatre began immediately to designs by Robert Smirke. The Prince of Wales laid the foundation stone on the last day of 1808 and the theatre opened just over eight months later with a performance of Shakespeare’s Macbeth starring the renowned brother and sister team of John Philip Kemble and Sarah Siddons. To help recoup the cost of the build, the management (including Kemble and Siddons) raised seat prices, a decision that proved so unpopular that audiences kept rioting until the old prices were restored.

    In 1843, the Theatres Act ended the patent theatres’ monopoly of drama and the competition for audiences intensified. Three years later, Covent Garden scored a notable coup when the gifted composer and conductor Michael Costa joined the theatre from Her Majesty’s in the Haymarket, bringing most of his company of singers with him. Following the remodelling of the auditorium, the theatre reopened as the Royal Italian Opera in April 1847 with a performance of Rossini’s Semiramide. 

    Map & Directions: Royal Opera House

    CAPACITY: 2,256

    AIR CONDITIONING: Yes

    WHEELCHAIR SPACES: Up to 19 across the main auditorium, 4 in the Linbury Studio and 2 in the Clore Studio. Please inform the Box Office of any further specific requirements when booking.

    DISABLED TOILETS: Yes.

    BSL INTERPRETATION: Yes, on select performances – please the Box Office for more information.

    INDUCTION LOOP SYSTEM: Yes, in the Box Office, Information desk and bars. A Trantec radio system assisted-hearing facility is available in the main auditorium and the Linbury Studio.

    GUIDE DOGS: Yes – please advise the Box Office when booking.

    NEAREST TUBE/RAIL STATION: Covent Garden and Temple.

    BUSES: 1, 4, 6, 9, 11, 13, 15, 23, 26, 68, 76, 87, 91, 168, 171, 176, 188, 501 (southbound only), 505, 521 and X68.

    NEAREST CAR PARKS: Drury Lane and Shelton Street. 

     

  • Royal Opera House

    Covent Garden,
    London,
    WC2E 9DD

  • Full Seating Plan
    Royal Opera House Seating Plan