Painting by Arbit Blatas of Geraint Evans as Falstaff in Verdi's opera, Falstaff, gouache and pen and ink, 1968.
Geraint Evans (1922-1992) was Principal Baritone at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, from 1948 until 1984. His roles were wide-ranging but it was comedy that showed his talents to best effect. He first sang Verdi’s Falstaff at Glyndebourne in 1957 and, as the obituary writer of the Independent (21 September 1992) noted, ‘Sir John, in his interpretation, was no elderly has-been, but a robust, genial, middle-aged fellow still capable of appreciating the two chief pleasures of life - wine and women. Although Shakespearean in style, it was a very Italian conception of the part and again Evans changed only outward inessentials in later productions.’
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Evans was Falstaff on the opening night of Franco Zeffirelli’s production at Covent Garden on 10 May 1961. Though some of the production details did not find favour with the critics, who felt there was too much distracting comic business, Evans’s portrayal of ‘a sly, grandly blimpish, dignified and touching old campaigner’ (Adam Bell, Evening Standard, 11 May 1961) was well liked: ‘he brings to the part a full mellowness and strength of voice and a wealth of ingenious details’, wrote Martin Cooper (Daily Telegraph, 11 May 1961). The production proved popular with audiences and was revived throughout the 1960s and 1970s, totally 18 performances. Evans sang in 14 of them.
Lithuanian-born artist Arbit Blatas (1908–1999) made this portrait at Covent Garden during the 1968 revival. Reviewing the performance, William Mann wrote that Evans ‘was in best voice last night, perfectly vivid in his words and brilliant in his timing of them. And his portrayal of Falstaff has acquired layers of implication and meaning over the years, shed some irrelevances, found new delights’ (The Times, 30 May 1968).
In a note attached to the back of the frame Arbit Blatas dedicates the portrait to opera lover Anthony Gasson (died 2012), an enthusiastic collector of opera memorabilia. Items from Gasson’s collection were acquired by the V&A in 2014.
