Don Pasquale at Festival Theatre

Director Renaud Doucet and designer André Barbe (Manon, 2009) bring Donizetti’s quick-witted, comic masterpiece to life with typically colourful and quirky style. Set in Rome at the cusp of the swinging Sixties, Don Pasquale’s eccentric characters are given life in a world that is the perfect setting for a titanic clash of the generations.

Don Pasquale, a reclusive old man with a penchant for cats, runs a crumbling pensione with a chain-smoking chambermaid and a greasy cook for company. Worried that his wealth will be squandered by his 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?

Donizetti’s perfectly constructed score keeps the plot moving apace; one minute melancholy, the next an explosion of energy. From slow, indulgent arias to punchy patter and sparkling humour, it’s full of zest and personality. Opera buffa veteran Bruno Praticò brings Italian authenticity to the role of Don Pasquale. Internationally acclaimed tenor Colin Lee is Ernesto, and Ruth Jenkins-Róbertsson, fresh from rave reviews as Papagena in our 2012 The Magic Flute, is Norina. Francesco Corti makes a welcome return to conduct.