Kiril Manolov Leads a Powerhouse Cast in Verdi’s Falstaff at Teatru Manoel
Teatru Manoel and MNO announce a bold new staging of Verdi’s Falstaff, returning to Malta with a world-class international cast, many of whom are reprising their celebrated Falstaff roles from some of the world’s finest stages. Falstaff will perform at Teatru Manoel between 22 February and 1 March 2026.
Under the creative direction of Maltese tenor and Opera Awards nominee Nico Darmanin, MNO together with Teatru Manoel begins a new chapter of international partnership and artistic ambition, bringing Maltese audiences classical works that reflect the highest operatic standards and a bold, contemporary vision for the future.
This new production is set inside a buzzing 1960s broadcasting studio, inspired by director Barbara Diana, where Falstaff explodes with colour, comedy, and the fast-paced mischief of live television. Verdi’s final masterpiece finds new life in this world of glowing ON AIR signs, studio cameras, velvet drapes and backstage chaos… a setting that amplifies the opera’s humour, timing, and exuberant energy.
The production is conducted by Federico Tibone, a rising force on the European opera circuit whose work spans Opéra National de Paris and the Opéra de Marseille, bringing incisive musical leadership and a refined understanding of Verdi’s comic timing and ensemble brilliance. He will lead the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra in this new Falstaff.
The set and costume design, created by Stewart J. Charlesworth, is a major visual centrepiece of the production. Inspired by the bold palette and graphic style of the 1960s, Charlesworth’s world is charged with comic flair, saturated studio lighting, rhythmic pops of colour, and sharply drawn silhouettes that mirror the pace and wit of Verdi’s score, enriching the lively, character-driven comedy that unfolds on stage.
A New Chapter for Opera in Malta
This collaboration between MNO and Teatru Manoel signals a shift in Malta’s operatic landscape, towards productions built on international casting, contemporary theatricality and an expanded sense of artistic ambition on the national stage.
With its riotous 1960s world and exceptional creative team, Falstaff marks the beginning of a more outward-looking approach to opera in Malta: one defined by artistic excellence, scale and a renewed connection to the wider European operatic conversation.
This Falstaff transports audiences to the frenetic world of a 1960s television studio, a place where vanity, ambition, gossip, and desire unfold under unforgiving studio lights. As Falstaff’s audacious schemes collapse around him, the women of Windsor take control in a brilliantly timed comic revenge.
