Verdi: Falstaff (2001) Rating: Starring: Anna Caterina Antonacci, Barbara Frittoli, Ambrogio Maestri, Juan Diego Florez, Roberto Frontali Director: Ruggero Cappuccio, Pierre Cavassilas, Orchestra del Teatro alla Scala Category: Music Studio: Naxos Subtitles: English,Spanish,French,Italian,German Length: 125 mins     The present recording was made at a performance in Busseto, Verdi's birthplace, in the Emilia Romagna region. There, in 2001, a whole series of events marked the 100th anniversary of the composer's death. The small, 328 seat Teatro Verdi, built in Verdi's lifetime, provided the ensemble of La Scala, Milan, under its principal conductor Riccardo Muti, with a particularly captivating backdrop, and the mainly young singers-including 31 year old shooting star Ambrogio Maestri in the title role, exciting young tenor Juan Diego Florez as Fenton, and internationally acclaimed Barbara Frittoli as Alice-gave superb performances. The special appeal of this productions lies, however, not only in the excellent quality of the music; there is also the fact that the scenery and costumes were recreated from a historical performance of 1913. Back then, Artura Toscanini had performed the work in the same location to mark Verdi's 100th birthday. The orchestra at the performance was similarly reduced in forces, which means that this performance follows an altogether highly regarded tradition. What is more, this "chamber opera" version compiles with the composer's wish for the work to be staged in Sant' Agata (just a few miles from Busseto), and the intimacy of the theatre in Busseto certainly does correspond to the personal character of the work. The lively and witty direction of the young Italian Ruggero Cappuccio combines the historical backdrop with the vitality of modern direction.