A comic opera co-produced by China's National Center for the Performing Arts (NCPA) and the Vienna State Opera was staged in China's capital city over the weekend. The opera, Falstaff, was the last opera work written by Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi as he was approaching the age of 80.

Falstaff is in three acts and was adopted from the eponymous character in Shakespeare's Henry IV and The Merry Wives of Windsor by Italian scriptwriter Arrigo Boito, with music composed by Giuseppe Verdi. 

Verdi made numerous changes to the music after the first performance, and editors have found difficulty in agreeing on a definitive score. 

The work was first recorded in 1932 and has subsequently had many studio and live recordings of it done. 

Giuseppe Cuccia, opera advisor of the NCPA said, "Falstaff is a special piece and is the most complicated and the most difficult opera by Verdi, but what makes it so special is because it is a new style in a way Verdi writes for the orchestra and for the singers and the difficulty comes from the rhythm which is extremely complicated. It is not an easy opera, it can be a paradox, but it is much much easier to sing Wagner than to sing this opera."

The plot revolves around the thwarted, sometimes farcical, efforts of the fat knight, Sir John Falstaff, to seduce two married women to gain access to their husbands' wealth.

Falstaff is greatly different in style from Verdi's earlier works. As Verdi's last opera, the composer integrated his rich feelings and experiences about life into the creation.

The show featured performers from both China and Europe, and is scheduled to be staged at the National Center for the Performing Arts from December 3 to 10.