Laurent Pelly’s acclaimed production from the Gran Teatre del Liceu is available free on OperaVision, with Luca Salsi leading the cast and Josep Pons conducting his farewell performances as the theatre’s principal conductor.
Opera: Falstaff
Composer: Giuseppe Verdi
Libretto: Arrigo Boito
Theatre: Gran Teatre del Liceu, Barcelona, Spain
Streaming platform: Operavision (free)
Premiere stream: 24 July 2026, 19:00 CET
Available on demand until: 24 January 2027, 12:00 CET
Recording date: 18 July 2026
Language: Italian
Subtitles: Italian, English and Spanish
Conductor: Josep Pons
Production: Laurent Pelly
Cast: Luca Salsi (Falstaff), Igor Golovatenko (Ford), Roberta Mantegna (Alice Ford), Daniela Barcellona (Mrs. Quickly), Serena Sáenz (Nannetta), Santiago Ballerini (Fenton), Josep Fadó (Dr Caius), Pablo García-López (Bardolfo), Alessio Cacciamani (Pistola), Gemma Coma-Alabert (Meg Page).
Orchestra: Symphony Orchestra of the Gran Teatre del Liceu
Chorus: Chorus of the Gran Teatre del Liceu
Availability may vary by region.
Verdi’s final opera returns to OperaVision in a new stream from Barcelona, where the Gran Teatre del Liceu revives Laurent Pelly’s witty staging of Falstaff. Recorded on 18 July, the performance becomes available free of charge from 24 July and remains on demand until 24 January 2027.
Completed when the composer was in his late seventies, Falstaff marked a remarkable farewell to the operatic stage. Rather than ending his career with tragedy, Verdi embraced Shakespearean comedy in a score of extraordinary sophistication, full of rapid-fire ensembles, intricate orchestral writing and moments of unexpected tenderness.
Pelly relocates the action to the twentieth century while preserving the spirit of Shakespeare’s The Merry Wives of Windsor. His production balances broad comedy with the bittersweet humanity that lies beneath the opera’s humour, highlighting the ageing Falstaff as a figure who is both ridiculous and strangely endearing.
Italian baritone Luca Salsi takes on the title role, joined by a distinguished international cast including Roberta Mantegna as Alice Ford, Daniela Barcellona as the formidable Mrs. Quickly, Serena Sáenz as Nannetta, Santiago Ballerini as Fenton and Igor Golovatenko as Ford.
The performances also carry particular significance as they mark Josep Pons’ farewell to the Liceu after twelve years as the company’s principal conductor. Under his musical direction, Verdi’s last masterpiece receives a send-off worthy of one of the theatre’s defining artistic partnerships of the past decade.
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