Ambrogio Maestri seems a tailor-made Falstaff. A giant of a man in real life, he is the ideal eponymous hero and the most sought after Falstaff singer of his time. His physique is just right for the part, as are his powerful voice, flair for drama and feeling for the Verdi style. (New York Times). The characters of the comedy appear as shadows of the past and now the drama, increasingly a mixture of dream and reality, can commence. This surprising and imaginative staging thought up by the Italian director Damiano Michieletto moves the action of Verdi's late, great masterpiece from a fictitious London to that special care home, the Casa Verdi, a place rich in memories of great days past and impressions of a real-time present.

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