Falstaff (opera) Falstaff (opera) Falstaff () is a comic opera in three acts by the Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi. The libretto was adapted by Arrigo Boito from Shakespeare's "The Merry Wives of Windsor" and scenes from "Henry IV", parts 1 and 2. The work premiered on 9 February 1893 at La Scala, Milan. Verdi wrote "Falstaff", which was the last of his 28 operas, as he was approaching the age of 80. It was his second comedy, and his third work based on a Shakespeare play, following "Macbeth" and "Otello". The plot revolves around the thwarted, sometimes farcical, efforts of the fat
Shakespearean problem play dilemma that instigates multiple opposing but equally plausible opinions from the audience. Using this theory, Schanzer distinguishes only "Measure for Measure" as a Shakespearean problem comedy, identifying both "All's Well That Ends Well" and "Troilus and Cressida" as lacking of a pivotal ethical dilemma that divides the audience. Schanzer offers "Julius Caesar" and "Antony and Cleopatra" in the place of previously recognized problem plays. Shakespearean problem play In Shakespeare studies, the problem plays are three plays that William Shakespeare wrote between the late 1590s and the first years of the seventeenth century: "All's Well That Ends Well", "Measure for Measure"