Arts & Events

Bay Shore Lyric Opera, a non-profit company based in Saratoga, presents Verdi's Falstaff, an opera in 3 acts by Giuseppe Verdi, on Saturday. September 28, at 7:00pm, at the Hillside Club in Berkeley, 2286 Cedar St.

This is the final performance of a fully staged and costumed production which has played in several Northern California venues, including Redwood City, Capitola, Santa Cruz and Big Sur. It will be sung in English accompanied by a 20-piece orchestra. Berkeley soprano Eliza O’Malley sings the role of Alice Ford, and Falstaff is Chris Wells.

Tickets, priced from $15-$37, are available at the door or may be purchased from Brown Paper Tickets by clicking here.

Admission includes a complementary wine and appetizer reception.

Verdi’s sophisticated Shakespearean comedy Falstaff is brimming with backfired plans, failed disguises, and uproarious personalities. This brilliant opera, Verdi’s last, features one of Shakespeare’s most memorable characters: the rotund and lovably oafish knight Falstaff, from the Bard’s Henry IV and The Merry Wives of Windsor. In this operatic take, Falstaff attempts to seduce two wealthy (and married) women—but they concoct their own scheme to expose him for a fool.

A deeply human comedy full of humor and genuine emotion, Verdi’s last opera is a splendid finale to an unparalleled career in the theater. With a supremely well-crafted score, which has long commanded the respect even of Verdi’s critics, it is among the greatest operatic comedies of all time.