DON PASQUALE Opens Season For Great Performances at the Met On PBS 1/5/2011

Donizetti's Charming Comic Opera "Don Pasquale," Starring Anna Netrebko, begins New Season of THIRTEEN's "Great Performances at the Met" Wednesday, January 5, 2011 at 9 p.m. ET on PBS

James Levine leads a superlative cast in his first-ever performances of the opera

Anna Netrebko stars as Norina, the irresistible and clever romantic heroine of Donizetti's comic opera "Don Pasquale," premiering in primetime on PBS on Wednesday, January 5 at 9 p.m. ET (check local listings).

"Great Performances at the Met" is a presentation of THIRTEEN for WNET.ORG, one of America's most prolific and respected public media providers.

James Levine, in his first-ever performances of this opera, conducts a cast that also features Matthew Polenzani as the lovelorn Ernesto, Mariusz Kwiecien as the duplicitous Dr. Malatesta, and John Del Carlo as the title character. Renowned Austrian director Otto Schenk returns to the
Met to direct the first revival of his production, which The New York Times praised as "wonderful" and "insightful" when it premiered in 2006.

Reviewing the production, the Times was unstinting in its praise for Netrebko, who "oozed seductive charm" as she "navigated bel canto hurdles in a performance that was both physically energetic and vocally rich." Tenor Matthew Polenzani, who is making his Met role debut as Ernesto,
is "one of the Met's treasures" whose "polished performance puts him in the front ranks of a growing list of fine young tenors on the company roster" (Associated Press). Baritone Mariusz Kwiecien first played Dr. Malatesta at the Met in 2006 opposite Netrebko; the Times found him "mesmerizing in the role, his robust voice matched by his robust physique." Bass-baritone John Del Carlo, whose many past performances at the Met include an acclaimed Dr. Bartolo in The Met: Live in HD broadcast of IL Barbiere di Siviglia, sings the title role.

"Don Pasquale" features sets and costumes by Rolf Langenfass and lighting design by Duane Schuler.

"Great Performances" at the Met: "Don Pasquale" is directed for television by Gary Halvorson and hosted by mezzo-soprano Susan Graham. Jay David Saks is the music producer. "Great Performances at the Met: Don Pasquale" is the first production airing during the 2011 season of "Great Performances" at the Met." The performance is sung in Italian with English surtitles.

"Great Performances" is funded by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Irene Diamond Fund, Vivian Milstein, public television viewers and PBS. Corporate support for "Great Performances" at the Met" is provided by Toll Brothers, America's luxury home-builder®. Major funding for this telecast of "Don Pasquale" was provided by The Annenberg Foundation.

Visit "Great Performances" online at www.pbs.org/gperf for additional information on this and other "Great Performances" programs. For the Met, Mia Bongiovanni and Elena Park are Supervising Producers, and Louisa Briccetti and Victoria Warivonchik are Producers. Peter Gelb is Executive Producer. For "Great Performances", Bill O'Donnell is Series Producer; David Horn is Executive
Producer.

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