(Photo: Opera Illinois)
BY GEORGE LOOMIS [NY Sun, 21 March 2008]

The Metropolitan Opera made a questionable judgment call a few years ago when it abandoned plans for a new production of Verdi's "Falstaff" and decided instead to refurbish its once-classic Franco Zeffirelli production from 1964. Despite efforts on their behalf, however, the sets looked every bit their age when they returned in 2002 and served as a reminder that no production deserves to last forever.