‘A shot of adrenaline for tired ears’: our classical writers on the music that energises them

Joyous energy … Linda Richardson and Carolyn Dobbin in a production of Verdi’s Falstaff at Opera Holland Park in 2012. Photograph: Tristram Kenton/The Guardian

Verdi: Falstaff - Finale

Apologies to Mozartians, who might claim that The Marriage of Figaro has the most uplifting finale in the operatic repertory, but the final fugue in Verdi’s last opera wins the prize. It’s not just the idea of ending a score already larded with parodies and allusions with the most academic of musical forms, or its astounding compositional virtuosity – 10 independent voices at one point – but its irresistible outpouring of joyous energy. “Tutto nel mondo è burla” (Life is a burst of laughter) indeed. Andrew Clements