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Verdi’s final opera is also General Director Christopher Hahn's final opera production

 

Michael Chioldi as Sir John Falstaff  Credit all Photos: David Bachman

    Pittsburgh Opera's production of Falstaff opens tomorrow, Tuesday, April 28th, at the Benedum Center. Additional performances are Friday, May 1 at 7:00 PM, Sunday, May 3 at 3:00 PM with free childcare for children ages 2-12, plus our annual Student Matinee on Thursday, April 30 at 10:30 AM

    Considered one of the greatest comic operas ever, Falstaff was famed composer Giuseppe Verdi's final opera.

    Longtime Pittsburgh Opera General Director Christopher Hahn retires at the end of this season; Falstaff is his final opera too.

    Tickets start at just $20; oodles of discounts for kids ages 6-18, students, seniors, and more.

    Performances are Tuesday, April 28 at 7:00 PM; Friday, May 1 at 7:00 PM, Sunday, May 3 at 3:00 PM with free childcare for children ages 2-12, plus our annual Student Matinee on Thursday, April 30 at 10:30 AM

       Fittingly, Christopher Hahn, who is retiring in June, has chosen Giuseppe Verdi’s final opera for his final opera as Pittsburgh Opera General Director. “Falstaff was in many ways the culmination of Verdi’s remarkable career,” says Hahn. “Everything he’d learned in his life went into its gorgeous music. Plus, Falstaff is a comedy, and I wanted to finish my career with a smile, which seemed much more appropriate than a murder or suicide.”

    The cast’s Pittsburgh connections run deep:

Michael Chioldi as Sir John Falstaff and Marianne Cornetti as Mistress Quickly

    Marianne Cornetti (Mistress Quickly), internationally recognized as one of the leading Verdi mezzo-sopranos of her generation, is the Artistic Director for Pittsburgh Festival Opera and on the Voice Faculty at Carnegie Mellon University.

    Danielle Pastin (Alice Ford), a long-time Northside resident, has been delighting Pittsburgh audiences for almost two decades

    Michael Chioldi (Sir John Falstaff) grew up in Avonmore, Westmoreland County, PA, where his father was a steelworker. One of the world's most sought-after Dramatic Baritones, he made his Pittsburgh Opera debut to great applause as Giorgio Germont in 2024’s La Traviata.

    In addition, stage director Crystal Manich, who stage directed and wrote the libretto for Pittsburgh Opera’s most recent production, Time to Act, grew up in Pittsburgh’s South Hills and is an alumna of both Mt. Lebanon High School and Carnegie Mellon University.

Meg Page (Audrey Welsh, left) and Mistress Quickly (Marianne Cornetti) have Sir John Falstaff (Michael Chioldi) hide in the laundry basket 

    The cast also showcases Pittsburgh Opera’s strong Resident Artist program, a hallmark of Hahn’s tenure. Both Cornetti and Pastin are highly acclaimed alumnae, and Shannon Crowley (Nannetta), Audrey Welsh (Meg Page), Logan Wagner (Fenton), and Matthew Soibelman (Pistola) are all current Resident Artists. For her part, Crowley was named a 2026 Laffont Competition Grand Finals Winner yesterday at the Metropolitan Opera in New York.

             

Fenton (Logan Wagner) and his sweetheart Nanetta (Shannon Crowley)
               “It was important to me to have some of my favorite singers in my final production,” says Hahn. “Some I’ve worked with for years, others I’ve met more recently, but they all are stellar and demonstrate the world-class talent Pittsburgh Opera puts on stage.”

    In addition to three public performances, Pittsburgh Opera will have a special bonus Student Matinee performance of Falstaff on Thursday, April 30, at 10:30 AM. Tickets are reserved through Pittsburgh Opera’s Education Department. For more information, please see Pittsburgh Opera’s website or contact Marilyn Egan, Ph.D., Director of Education via email.

    Falstaff Synopsis                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

    Beloved buffoon Sir John Falstaff has fallen on hard times. But being a ladies’ man (or so he’d like to think), he drunkenly schemes to cash in on his wit and charm by wooing the wealthy wives of Windsor, Alice Ford and Meg Page. However, when these women uncover that he has sent them both identical love letters, they hatch a plan of their own to teach Falstaff a lesson he won’t soon forget!

The music matches the merriment and mischief of this madcap romp. See why Verdi’s buoyant comedy, based on Shakespeare’s The Merry Wives of Windsor, is considered one of the best comedic operas of all time!

–Let Jubilation Reign! 


Performance Schedule

Tuesday, April 28, 2026 * 7:00 PM - audio commentary available for patrons with visual impairments

Thursday, April 30, 2026 * 10:30 AM Student Matinee

Friday, May 1, 2026 * 7:00 PM

Sunday, May 3, 2026 * 3:00 PM with free childcare for children ages 2-12

Other Details

Location: Benedum Center, downtown Pittsburgh

Run Time: Approximately 2 hours and 30 minutes

Language: Sung in Italian with English supertitles projected above the stage

Music by Giuseppe Verdi; Libretto adapted by Arrigo Boito from the play The Merry Wives of Windsor and scenes from Henry IV, Part 1 and Part 2, by William Shakespeare

Related Events

    Pre-Opera Talks (free) - one hour before each performance’s start time

    Opening Night Toast (free) - after the Tuesday, April 28th performance, mingle and salute the cast with a congratulatory toast.

    Meet the Artists (free) - after the Friday, May 1st performance

    Falstaff Preview Show on WQED-FM 89.3 and wqed.org/fm  - Saturday, April 18 at 12:30PM & Monday, April 27, at 7:00PM


Tickets

    Tickets for Falstaff start at just $20. Tickets for kids and teens ages 6–18 are half price. Other group ticket services and discounts are available. For tickets, call (412) 456-6666, visit www.pittsburghopera.org, or buy in-person at the Theater Square Box Office, 665 Penn Avenue, in the Cultural District.

    These performances are sponsored in part by The Barensfeld Charitable Fund and The Gailliot Fund

    To learn about becoming a sponsor, contact Pittsburgh Opera at 412-281-0912 x226 or development@pittsburghopera.org.

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