CONTACT: Judy Moore at (847) 491-4819 or at jkm229@northwestern.edu

February 10, 2004

Verdi's Opera "Falstaff" to be Performed at Cahn Auditorium Feb. 26 to 29

EVANSTON, Ill. --- The Northwestern University 2003-04 Opera Season continues with the School of Music’s presentation of “Falstaff,” Giuseppe Verdi’s final gift to the stage.

“Falstaff,” the University’s winter opera, will be performed at Cahn Auditorium, 600 Emerson St., on the Evanston campus. Performances are scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 26, Friday, Feb. 27, and Saturday, Feb. 28, and 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 29.

“Falstaff” tells the tale of the larcenous Sir John Falstaff, who connives to rob two gentlemen of their purses and their wives. Plots, counterplots, lies and deceit quickly unravel in the hilarious chain of events that occur during Verdi’s only comic opera.

Written when the great composer was nearly 80 years old, this masterpiece fulfilled his long-cherished ambition of setting Shakespeare’s “Merry Wives of Windsor” to music.

“Falstaff” will be performed in Italian with English supertitles. It will be directed by Northwestern’s Director of Opera Noel Koran, associate professor of opera, and conducted by Frederick Ockwell, associate professor of opera, conducting and ensembles.

Single tickets for “Falstaff” are $22 for the general public; $18 for senior citizens and Northwestern faculty and staff; and $5.50 for full-time students.

For tickets and more information, call the Pick-Staiger Ticket Office at (847) 467-4000.