Falstaff

The term autumnal seems permanently affixed to Verdi's final opera, but then how else can you describe this deeply humane, genuinely funny and quietly innovative Shakespearean romp from the composer's ninth decade? Ambrogio Maestri plays the title role in a new Robert Carsen production, joined by a gaggle of lively colleagues (Lisette Oropesa, Angela Meade, Stephanie Blythe and Jennifer Johnson Cano) and buoyed by James Levine on the podium.