All the world is a jest

Shakespeare's errant knight finally gets his comeuppance in Verdi's buoyant final opera, based on The Bard's very own The Merry Wives of Windsor, one of his three plays featuring the character. Now scheming to seduce some wealthy women and get his hands on their cash, enjoy the downfall of Falstaff in this jubilant opera full of belly-laughs and romance, mishaps and hijinks a-plenty, making for a good old fashioned night out for all kinds of opera lovers.

What is the story?

Down on his luck, famed bounder Sir John Falstaff decides to turn his fortunes around by scamming two married women with identical love letters, hoping that at least one of them falls for his ploy and shares her husband's fortune. Unfortunately, things don't quite go to plan, and he's thwarted by the merry wives of Windsor at every turn, who on discovering his duplicity decide to get some revenge! But whether he's berated by forest demons or thrown into the Thames, Falstaff retains his sense of humor and his 'joie de vivre' to the very end.