Donizetti's Don Pasquale

Florida Grand Opera 

May 11th, Miami Dade County Auditorium

* FGO Debut
**American Debut

The Production

    The sets designed by Susanna Rossi-Jost and the costumes by Roberta Guidi di Bagno looked marvelous, a production originally for the Teatro Alla Scala in Milan. The set consisted of mainly a frame of an Italian 19th century house. The inside of the house changed in Act 1 - Scene 1 to show Pasquale's home office, in Scene 2 to show Norina's house and in Act 2 - Scene 2 the living room of Pasquale's house. In Act 3, Pasquale's living room was lavishly decorated showing Norina was spending a lot of Pasquale's money. The stage direction by Sandra Bernhard was good enough, specially in Acts 2 & 3 where the comedy took off but most of the times the singers were left to themselves.

    During the overture there was a scene showing Ernesto and Norina's romance with servants running back and forth with love letters and Malatesta overseeing some of it. I did not like it. I think overture's are to be played with the curtain down so the audience can appreciate the music and not get distracted by what is happening on the stage.

The Cast

    Fabio Maria Capitanucci was the best of the night. He is an excellent baritone, his acting was perfect and he sang extremely well. Malatesta, contrary to what many people think, is a difficult role because it requires true knowledge of the Donizettian cantabile, it must be sung suave most of the times but sometimes requiring more voice, and it does require a lot of agility. Needless to say, Capitanucci displayed all that. A singer to watch!

    Donato di Stefano is a seasoned Pasquale. He did not start well and sounded tired and uninterested in Act 1 (there was no urgency in his voice/singing on the prospect of getting married and in his exchanges with Malatesta) but his performance grew as the opera went on and by Act 3 he was in better shape delivering a funny duet and a nice interpretation of the role.

   Ernesto is certainly the most difficult role in this opera. It requires from the tenor a perfect technique because the singer should be able to sing mezza-voce most of the times, have a true pianissimo and sometimes venture in the forte (but not fortissimo). Alas, Gwyn Hughes Jones had none of that. Although his voice is small and he is a true light-lyric tenor, he tended to sing forte most of the time which put his voice under pressure. He got better somewhat by the end of the opera but it was too late.

    Norina was to be Elizabeth Vidal. The director of Miami opera came on stage and said they had problems with visa and she could not come! Yet again! This is the third time this year a singer scheduled to appear cannot. Strange! Sarah Coburn was her replacement also making her FGO debut. She is still a young singer and it showed. Her acting was not good but she got away with it because the opera is well constructed. Her Italian diction was poor and I had a hard time understanding what she was saying. In an opera like Pasquale, Italian diction is a must. Her singing was non-eventful, she added a high note here and there but the voice is too thin. I prefer fuller voices for Norina. FGO was lucky during Faust where the replacement was better than the original, but this time it did not pay off.

    Will Crutchfield made his FGO debut also and his conducting was very good. He kept the orchestra alive and paid close attentions to the subtleties in Donizetti's score. The orchestra also played well and the chorus did well enough in their small participation.