Each year, the NSO wraps up its season with a full operatic production, an event many Taiwanese look forward to with great interest. This time it’s a comedy, one of the very few great comedies in the repertory, Verdi’s Falstaff. It is an opera rich in detail, filled with memorable characters and bubbling over with delicious comic touches at every turn. The orchestra is unusually prominent for an opera, making Falstaff an excellent choice for an NSO presentation. Its text is an adaptation of Shakespeare’s play The Merry Wives of Windsor, laced with monologues from Henry IV Parts I and II. The premiere at Milan’s La Scala in 1893 was a roaring success. Notables from all over Europe attended, and tickets went for incredible sums. Although Falstaff will be performed in the Concert Hall, Jean-Michel Criqui will direct the comings and goings of the ten characters in a manner that keeps the eye occupied and the ear delighted.