Verdi’s last opera, written when he was approaching eighty, was only the second comedy of his long career, following the ill-fated Un giorno di regno of fifty years before. His friend and collaborator Arrigo Boito, who had with some difficulty talked him into composing Otello several years earlier, now had an easier time convincing him to crown his glory with one more tribute to his beloved Shakespeare. The three principals are all famous portrayers of their roles, aided by an outstanding supporting cast. Mariano Stabile was a veteran Italian basso buffo who had the role of Falstaff in his belly, if not his bones. Renata Tebaldi was the most famous Italian lyric soprano of her era and she remains, along with Maria Callas, the most loved soprano of recent years. Cesare Valletti was a tenore di grazia, a tenor with a light, flexible head voice of exquisite beauty. Live performance, Milan, May 26, 1951.