‘Falstaff’ star relishes taking on insatiable icon in Opera San Jose production

Darren Drone is smiling a lot these days.

The American baritone is singing the title role of “Falstaff” at Opera San Jose, and he says that, guided by director José Maria Condemi, he and his fellow cast members are having a blast bringing Verdi’s 1893 comedy to the stage.

“It’s going very well,” Drone said during a recent break in rehearsals. “We’re figuring things out, discovering different vocal stuff. It’s been a really good time, and everybody’s having fun.”

Fun is simply unavoidable in “Falstaff.” Adapted from Shakespeare’s “The Merry Wives of Windsor” and scenes from “Henry IV,” Parts One and Two, the opera was Verdi’s last: after writing some of opera’s greatest dramatic works, the composer turned to comedy and scored a triumph.

This is Drone’s official first time in the role, although he was a “cover” — opera-speak for understudy — in Santa Fe Opera’s 2022 production of “Falstaff.”

“It was nice to get my feet wet in that production, instead of just diving in here,” he said.

In Santa Fe, he added, “I learned how to run upstairs while singing” — and while wearing lots of body padding. “Falstaff is a rather rotund fellow; I’m a big dude, but I still have to put on extra padding and navigate with that.”

Like Drone, Verdi clearly relished the comedic opportunities in Shakespeare’s beloved character: “After having relentlessly massacred so many heroes and heroines,” wrote the composer, “I have at last the right to laugh a little.”

Verdi, true to Shakespeare’s original, made “Falstaff” a man of enormous appetites. Therein lies much of the opera’s humor; the title character must also deal with the four women determined to outsmart him.

Soprano Chanáe Curtis, singing the pivotal role of their leader, Alice Ford, says it’s really no contest.

“Falstaff thinks he’s going to have everything his way, but Alice Ford is always one step ahead of him,” she explained. “It’s so much fun to see the men thinking they’ll outsmart the women, when, of course, the women always outsmart the men. Verdi really understood women — the emotions of women, and how they react.”

Joining Curtis in the female quartet are Megan Esther Grey (Dame Quickly), Shanley Horvitz (Meg Page), and Natalia Santaliz (Nanetta); rounding out the cast are Eugene Brancoveanu (Ford), Jonghyun Park (Fenton), Marc Molomot (Bardolfo), and Zhengyi Bai (Dr. Caius).

Curtis, whose credits include making her Metropolitan Opera debut in 2019 as Annie in “Porgy and Bess,” returning to the Met last year as Countess Ceprano in Verdi’s “Rigoletto,” and singing for Prince Charles at Buckingham Palace, loves Verdi’s music in “Falstaff.”

For all its laughs, she says, the opera is a work of uncommon depth. “The music is so clever, so funny, but with moments that are really deep; in Act III, when Falstaff comes out at night, it’s dark and he’s scared. Those are the moments when you think ‘Ah, that’s Verdi.’”

Director Condemi has staged the opera in the original period, with some clever touches. In recognition of Falstaff’s love of “sack” — the Spanish fortified wine that’s his beverage of choice — the production is set inside a gigantic wine barrel. That motif carries through the show, including in what appears to be Falstaff’s “throne,” also made of wine barrels.

The production, notes Condemi, doesn’t shy away from issues of gender, body image, and the place of women in society. “We’re not just staging the surface of the opera,” he said. “In rehearsals, we’re talking a lot about this opera in 2023, discussing all of these things.”

“Some of the lines spoken belong in the period, making fun of somebody large like Falstaff,” Condemi adds. “Things have changed; the piece is about body positivity. Falstaff himself refers to his belly as his ‘kingdom.’ He’s the ultimate body-positivity character. So it’s interesting to stage this piece now. In the end, we have to conclude that part of the message of the piece is positive and inclusive.”

Condemi is also proud of having cast young singers of color in the principal roles. “It’s amazing, because a lot of companies are doing very diverse casting these days. But what makes it even more awesome is that these artists, aside from the color of their skin, are spectacular. There’s the joy of seeing this diverse cast — they get up and do their jobs, and all you see is talent.”

Contact Georgia Rowe at growe@pacbell.net.

‘FALSTAFF’

By Giuseppe Verdi, presented by Opera San Jose

When: Feb. 11-26

Where: California Theatre, 345 S. 1st St., San Jose

Tickets: $55-$195; 408-437-4450, operasj.org