Verdi had already gone into retirement when Boito brought the idea of Falstaff to him. Boito adapted the libretto from Shakespeare’s The Merry Wives of Windsor, and Henry IV. Boito changes the focus a bit, making Falstaff a much larger presence by taking large scenes and monologues from Henry IV, and decreasing the cast size of The Merry Wives of Windsor to focus mainly on Alice and Ford. Verdi did, in fact, come out of retirement to work for three years on the development of the piece with Boito. Verdi had not written many comedies in his prestigious career, and after Otello, he said that he
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Falstaff guide sections
