There’s no fool like an old fool, particularly when it comes to love and money. And as you enter Don Pasquale’s crumbling pensione the old adage soon becomes amusingly apparent. With endearingly eccentric characters, fabulous music and plenty of laughs, director Renaud Doucet and designer André Barbe (Manon 2009) return with their colourful and quirky style. Set in Rome at the cusp of the Swinging Sixties, it’s the perfect setting for a titanic clash of the generations. Read more …
Don Pasquale, a reclusive old man with a penchant for cats, runs his pensione with only a chain-smoking chambermaid, a greasy cook and an ancient porter for company. Worried that his wealth will be squandered by his scheming nephew Ernesto, Pasquale determines to find himself a wife. When a distinctly feline young lady conveniently turns up, he is smitten. But having a wife is not quite as straightforward as he expected… Has Ernesto got the better of the old curmudgeon at last?
From lyrical arias, to punchy patter and sparkling humour, Donizetti’s music brings this comedic masterpiece to life. Opera buffa veteran Alfonso Antoniozzi sings Don Pasquale, internationally acclaimed tenor Aldo Di Toro is Ernesto and Ruth Jenkins-Róbertsson, fresh from rave reviews as Papagena in 2012’s The Magic Flute, is Norina. Former Scottish Opera Music Director Francesco Corti makes a welcome return to conduct.
If the director-designer duo Renaud Doucet and Andre Barbe were setting out to prove that Donizetti’s Don Pasquale deserves higher status within his operatic output, they have succeeded big time.
Another sparkling gem for Scottish Opera.
This is a sure-footed and nimble piece of comic opera. Not only do you get the light lyrical music of Donizetti, perfectly performed, but you also get to see great comic timing in every role.
Strong performances, both individual and ensemble, and neat comic touches (such as a shuffling, fag-smoking housemaid heaving an impossibly huge laundry above the terrace) add deliciously to this beautifully sung production’s over-arching sense of fun.
The decision to set the opera in 1960s Rome is inspired, and the story – as it has been reimagined here – sits perfectly in that time with no obvious plot manipulation to make it fit. And having placed it there, director Renaud Doucet wisely doesn’t then overplay the references.
Theatre Royal, Glasgow from Friday January 24, 2014, until Saturday February 1, 2014. Performing Jan 24, 26, 29 and Feb 1 only. More info: www.theambassadors.com/theatreroyalglasgow/
Festival Theatre, Edinburgh from Tuesday February 18, 2014, until Saturday February 22, 2014. Performing Feb 18, 20 and 22 only. More info: http://www.edtheatres.com/festival
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