Extraordinarily prolific, Donizetti habitually overworked himself
in an attempt to keep pace with demands from various opera houses.
Over the course of his career, Donizetti wrote 65 complete operas,
and worked with at least 21 librettists. His co-librettist for Don
Pasquale was poet, novelist and Italian patriot Giovanni Ruffini.
Although Ruffini and Donizetti quickly established a cordial friendship,
they had a rocky working relationship. Ruffini complained that Donizetti
worked too quickly, paralyzing his creative gifts by denying him
enough time to make thoughtful revisions. Indeed, Donizetti’s
compositional pace would have been difficult for anyone to follow—he
is said to have completed the vocal score for Don Pasquale in
just two weeks!
The rehearsal period of Don Pasquale was quite tense for
Donizetti because no one, from the manager to the principal singers,
found much to admire in the opera. The orchestra was miserable, grumbling
their disapproval and drawing nasty cartoons of Donizetti in their
scores. A confident Donizetti assured everyone that the production
would be a success. At the dress rehearsal, however, the directors
of the theater were still doubtful; one was overheard saying to the
other “that
text and that music would be good, at best, for acrobats.”
Despite everyone’s doubts, Don Pasquale was a huge
hit at its premiere in Paris and quickly conquered Vienna, London,
Milan, and eventually New York. Its hilarious story and irresistible
music have earned it a permanent place among opera’s greatest
comedies.
Enjoy the beauty of the original language and understand it
all with English translations. The English text is projected on a screen
above the stage for each opera. Easy to follow, and easy to understand
every twist and turn of the plot! Are You Ready? |
