Nicolai: The Merry Wives of Windsor

Opera 13

Nicolai: The Merry Wives of Windsor

Soloists

Bavarian State Opera

Robert Heger

In the days when concerts regularly started with overtures the overture to this opera was one of the most regularly performed pieces. But these days overtures are much less commonly played and so this has rather fallen from familiarity. I'll return to it later.

The opera, which dates from 1849, was Nicolai's last - he died aged 38 only a couple of months after the premiere. I thought that it was a delightful work -it is infused with the spirit of Weber and, especially, Mendelssohn. Some of the pieces in the opera could have passed for additional numbers in the incidental music to A midsummer night's dream and I am sure that Mendelssohn would not have disowned them.

This is very much an opera about the merry wives themselves - the role of Falstaff is surprisingly small, though I suspect that with the spoken dialogue taken into consideration it is a much more expansive role on stage than it is on disc. The ensembles are a real joy and there is great good humour throughout - even when Falstaff is being pinched!  Some of the solo arias are a little cloying and there is too much old-fashioned ornamentation but that it a minor drawback in what is otherwise an impressive score. Who knows what Nicolai might have written had lived another 30 years.

Back to the overture. As I listened to the opera I mentally ticked off the appearance of all of the themes from the overture except the most famous one - the C major tune that forms the second subject. But it never appeared.  What confidence to reserve that lovely tune just for the overture and keep the audience waiting for its (non) appearance.