BBC Music Magazine
'It was sheer delight on stage, and it is an equally joyous experience on disc. What a strong cast it has, with every role vividly portrayed, and Paul Daniel conducting Verdi's glorious life-enhancing score as confidently and enthusiastically as he did in the theatre. The merry wives of Windsor are a splendid team, with Yvonne Kenny, a delectable Alice Ford, her radiant soprano clearly relishing the role, and Alice Coote a sumptuous Meg Page'
Comic opera in three acts
Libretto by Arrigo Boito
after Shakespeare's The Merry Wives of Windsor
and Henry IV
English translation by Amanda Holden
The Cast
Andrew Shore, baritone - Sir John Falstaff
Yvonne Kenny, soprano - Mrs Alice Ford
Ashley Holland, baritone (PMF Scholar) - Ford
Susan Gritton, soprano - Nannetta
Barry Banks, tenor (PMF Scholar) - Fenton
Stuart Kale, tenor - Dr Caius
Rebecca de Pont Davies, mezzo-soprano
-
Mistress Quickly
Alice Coote, mezzo-soprano (PMF Scholar)
-
Mrs Meg Page
Clive Bayley, bass (PMF Scholar) - Pistol
Richard Roberts, tenor - Bardolph
English National Opera Chorus
English National Opera Orchestra
Paul Daniel - conductor
Recorded in Blackheath Halls
London 27 May- 3 June 2001
Producer - Brian Couzens, Sound engineer - Jonathan Cooper,
Assistant engineer - Christopher Brooke
International Record Review
'Only the deepest-dyed critic of opera in English, could resist this Falstaff. Amanda Holden's translation is intelligent, musical and witty in its own right; and Paul Daniel and his cast relish the opportunity to spin gold out of Verdi's last masterpiece... Eschewing swaggering and braggadocia for their own sake, this is a Falstaff rescued from the broad-brushed characterization of the role to which other artists aspire... Shore's Falstaff is neither a fat, foolish, funny man nor the saloon-bar boaster that other singers have made of him. This is a Falstaff who knows himself better than most of the other merry men and wives of Windsor. If he is venal, then he is also ruthlessly honest about the world around him.'
Gramophone
‘The concerted pieces of the second scene in each of the three acts are splendid in their exactness, energy and clarity. The orchestra is similarly assured and complete in its mastery of a score that demands constant alertness and a high degree of technical skill. Paul Daniel must take a large share of the credit for both of these admirable features, and the touch which he discernibly brings is always well-judged in observation of dynamics and choice of tempo.
The singers contribute worthily. Of the women, Mice Coote's fresh, full-bodied tone brings Meg Page more into notice than usual, and Susan Gritton (on the way now to being a voice for Mice Ford) ensures that Nannetta's song is an interlude of magical beauty. Barry Banks, a graceful Fenton, has also a moment of vocal magic as he rises softly into the head-voice in his solo 'From lover's lips'. Ashley Holland's dark baritone suits Ford well and contrasts effectively with Shore's Falstaff.’
Opera News
'I can think of no singer who gives me greater pleasure than Andrew Shore. His star turn on two recent releases of Chandos Opera in English series - the title role in Don Pasquale and Dulcamara in The Elixir of Love - are so delectable, so round in character, so bursting with humanity, that they have set the bar for all future recordings. Now the baritone has added Falstaff to his gallery of recorded roles, and once again he has gotten to the core of the work - the comedy, the pathos, the wisdom - and given us a portrayal of the fat knight to savor.'
