Opera "Falstaff" by Giuseppe Verdi is a musical comedy based on Shakespeare, where lightness, tenderness, and philosophy come together. Verdi conceived "Falstaff" as something completely new-an opera that breaks the mold. This is his last work, in which he, as if playing with genres, embodies the wisdom accumulated over decades. The libretto by Arrigo Boito based on Shakespeare's "The Merry Wives of Windsor" gives the opera an English flavor. But musically, "Falstaff" is a true European kaleidoscope. It combines Italian opera buffa, French lightness, and even echoes of German fairy-tale charm. Verdi skillfully weaves in fugues, madrigals, and church music, turning the production into an intellectual game filled with subtle humor and allusions. In this performance, everything breathes life-every ensemble, every solo, every finale, as if suggested by Mozart or Rossini, but at the same time speaks in Verdi's own voice. Even the mocking "Amen" and the final fugue here sound not as a mockery, but as an exquisite homage to the theater. However, through the joy and jokes, a shade of sadness breaks through: Falstaff is old, out of place, the world is changing, and there is no longer a place for him in it. This is a performance about the freedom to be oneself, even if you are ridiculous, and about how to laugh, even when it is sad. Our website features the current program of St. Petersburg.