Review: DON PASQUALE, Royal Opera House

Damiano Michieletto's modern-day staging of Donizetti's sparkling comedy Don Pasquale divided critics when it last appeared at The Royal Opera House in 2019. The story of the tricking of an old man into marrying a seemingly demure bride, only for her to rapidly becomes a nightmarish tyrant as soon as the ring is on her finger, is a comedy with some very sharp edges.

Don Pasquale wants his nephew, Ernesto, to marry a bride of his choosing. Ernesto refuses as he is in love with Norina. Pasquale decides to disinherit his nephew and marry a young bride himself. Pasquale's friend Malatesta tricks Pasquale into marrying Norina, who poses as his siter and seems an angelic match. Norina goes through a pretend marriage to Pasquale, only to become the wife-from-hell so Pasquale will let his nephew marry her as he wishes. The young lovers are discovered, forgiven and reunited, with Pasquale's blessing.

Italian baritone Lucio Gallo is a sympathetic Don Pasquale on opening night. He has lovely tone to his voice and is touching in his love for both Norina and his own mother. This sympathy slides into pity as he becomes increasingly bewildered at his treatment at Norina's hands and the realisation that his mother was the only woman to ever truly love him.

Norina, sung by South African soprano, Pretty Yende, quickly becomes the bride of nightmares, but Yende has both a beguiling coloratura and a real charm. She shows real confidence in the role, particularly in her pouting self-assurance as she prepares for the sham marriage to Pasquale. Occasionally she seems to fight with the volume of the orchestra, but shows that the character is both hard and shrewish, shown through a sharpness to her vocals. Yende also retains a comic flair in the role, such as when Malatesta coaches her on being demure and her expressive face is shown in close-up on a giant green screen.

It is sometimes hard to see the reason for Norina's attraction to Xabier Anduaga's Ernesto, who has an odd attachment to his teddy bear. Anduaga's character is a romantic dreamer, who displays a warmth and lightness to his voice, particularly in his off-stage serenade to Nornina. He also shows moments of real power and control.

The underwritten role of Malatesta is sung an accomplished Andrzej Filonczyk. He is a charming, albeit dangerous in his trickery of Pasquale. Both Filonczyk and Gallo show great poise and control, particularly in the famous tongue-twisting Pasquale-Malatesta duet, whilst also managing to operate odd hand puppets.

There is a bitter edge to the production, meaning there is sometimes confusion as to who should the audience feel sympathy for. Pasquale is an exploited old man, fighting against his advancing years. When Norina slaps Pasquale for disinheriting his nephew, it is more shocking than amusing and the conclusion of wheelchair-bound Pasquale left in a care home, after granting his blessing to Norina and Ernesto, is distinctly uncomfortable.

Paolo Fantin's inventive set presents us with the cluttered framework of Pasquale's house, that Norina later replaces for her extravagant and expensive taste, aided by the chorus dressed as removal workers. Setting Norina up as a studio assistant, gives a convincing background to her dedication to design.

The use of a large green scene is a clever device to see close-ups of the cast to maximise the comedy. However, Alessandro Carletti's lighting is overly bright for much of the production, with distracting reflections from the set, caused as it slowly rotates.

This is a production of Don Pasquale that feels modern and features some lovely performances, with Donizetti's lively score conducted precisely by Giacomo Sagripanti. We are asked to laugh at Pasquale, not with him. It is comedy that slides a little too close to cruelty.

Don Pasquale is playing in rep at the Royal Opera House until 20 May

Photo Credit: Bill Hooper

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