FALSTAFF Comes to Houston Grand Opera in October

On October 27, 2023, Houston Grand Opera (HGO) will open Falstaff, Verdi’s popular comedic masterpiece. Baritone Reginald Smith, Jr. stars as the drunken, vain, endearing Sir John Falstaff, in a story based on Shakespeare’s Merry Wives of Windsor and King Henry IV—Parts 1 and 2. HGO Artistic and Music Director Patrick Summers, who has led the company to artistic excellence for 25 years and counting, takes the podium for this iconic Elizabethan production directed by Paula Suozzi.

As the opera opens, Falstaff has fallen on hard times and, plotting to pay off his debts, decides to seduce and swindle two married women, Alice Ford and Meg Page. But Alice and Meg quickly discover his scheme and vow revenge, and Falstaff—along with the rest of the men in this joyous comedy—soon realizes that he’s deeply outmatched by the women.

The opera runs two hours and 30 minutes, including one intermission. It is sung in Italian with projected English translation.

WHO: The production will feature a remarkable cast dominated by artists who currently or previously trained with Sarah and Ernest Butler Houston Grand Opera Studio: baritone Reginald Smith, Jr. in the title role; soprano Nicole Heaston as Alice; baritone Blake Denson as her husband Ford; mezzo-soprano Emily Treigle as Meg; and mezzo-soprano Jennifer Johnson Cano as the women’s accomplice Mistress Quickly. Soprano Andrea Carroll performs the role of Nannetta, with tenor Jack Swanson making his mainstage debut as Fenton.  

WHEN: Friday, October 27, 2023, at 7:30 p.m.

Sunday, October 29, 2023, at 2 p.m.

Saturday, November 4, 2023 at 7:30 p.m.

Wednesday, November 8, 2023 at 7:30 p.m.

Friday, November 10, 2023 at 7:30 p.m.