Inspired by Shakespeare

Ford returns home, determined to surprise Falstaff with his unfaithful wife. In the ensuing chaos, Falstaff and the dirty laundry basket are tipped into the River Thames and the only lovers to be discovered are Nannetta and Fenton. Ford is forced to admit that he was wrong to suspect Alice.

Ailyn Pérez (Alice), Francesca Boncompagni (Nannetta), Caterina Piva (Meg Page) and Sara Mingardo (Quickly) sing ‘Fulgida Alice, amor t’offro...’ from Act I of Falstaff at Opera di Firenze - Maggio Musicale Fiorentino.

Act II. Hamlet (Quirijn de Lang) has engaged a troupe of actors to perform a play for the royal court. Before the performance begins, he sings a drinking song with them in which he calls for wine and laughter to dispel his sadness. Conducted by Hernán Schvartzman and directed by Serge van Veggel.

Act IV. After Hamlet's rejection, Ophélie (Lucie Chartin) has gone mad with grief. She cuts her wrist and, as she dies, she sings a mournful ballad about water sprites who lure their lovers to their deaths, dragging them underwater until they drown. Conducted by Hernán Schvartzman and directed by Serge van Veggel.

Ewa Płonka sings ‘Una macchia è qui tuttora’ at Deutsche Oper am Rhein. The famous mad scene also known as the Sleepwalking scene, is Lady Macbeth's final appearance in Verdi's opera. Shakespeare's female villain has become undone by her own conscience. She is continuously rubbing her hands to get rid of an invisible splash of blood and, without realising who is around her, walks around the castle like a mad, exhausted sleepwalker, victim of the most atrocious feelings of remorse.

In the last act of Benjamin Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream, a troupe enters to present a play; suicide scene by Thisbé (Michael Axelsson) is reminiscent of the most famous scenes of madness in Italian bel canto operas...