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BOISTEROUS ROMANTIC COMEDY PRESENTED BY TOLEDO OPERA
Toledo Opera presents the uproarious comic opera Don Pasquale by Italian
composer Gaetano Donizetti. A brilliant mix of comedy and romance, Don Pasquale involves
one of the most amusing deceptions in opera – an aging miser who thinks
he could be Casanova, a supposedly innocent girl who dominates everyone, a loutish,
lazy nephew who only wants to play music and hang out with his girlfriend and
a conniving but well-meaning doctor who twists everyone’s plans into knots
in order to straighten them out.
Performances, at the intimate Valentine Theatre in downtown Toledo,
are Friday, November 17, and Saturday, November 18 at 7:30 p.m.,
with a Sunday matinee on November 19 at 2:00 p.m. Each performance
is preceded by an informal pre-opera chat in the theater lobby. Providing
insights about an opera's historical timeline, its composer’s
life and the background of the opera, these talks, free to ticketholders,
and are designed to enhance the enjoyment of the performance.
Don Pasquale opened at the Théâtre-Italien
on January 3, 1843. It was an enormous artistic and financial success
for the composer and performances of the opera quickly spread throughout
the operatic world. Working at his usual frenetic pace, Donizetti
composed the opera in just 11 days filling it with melting serenades
and an abundance of delectable ensembles.
Soprano Anita Johnson will make her Toledo Opera debut in the role
of Norina. Recent career highlights have included Marie in The
Daughter of the Regiment and Oscar in Un Ballo in Maschera with
Michigan Opera Theatre; Konstanze in Die Entführung aus
dem Serail with Italy’s Spoleto Festival; the Princess
in L’enfant et les sortilèges and Clara in Porgy
and Bess with New York City Opera; Barbarina in Le Nozze
di Figaro with the Metropolitan Opera; Olympia in Les contes
d’Hoffman as the resident lyric coloratura soprano with
Germany’s National Theater Mannheim; Musetta in La bohème with
Opera Pacific; Norina in Don Pasquale with Florentine Opera,
and Lucia in The Rape of Lucretia with Opera Theatre of
Saint Louis.
Norina’s lovelorn suitor Ernesto will be sung by Yeghishe
Manucharyan. Many will remember his elegant singing and wonderful
comic timing from his performance in Toledo Opera’s production
of The Barber of Seville. Mr. Manucharyan opened the 2005-2006
season with his role debut as Riccardo in Maria di Rohan by
Donizetti at the Wexford Festival followed by the tenor solo in Verdi’s Messa
da Requiem with the Boston Cantata Singers, Rodolfo in La
bohème in Salerno, Gerald in Lakmé with
the Opera Orchestra of New York at Carnegie Hall, and Don Ottavio
in Don Giovanni at the New York City Opera.
The old bachelor Don Pasquale will be portrayed by bass Matthew
Lau. He recently performed the title role in Don Pasquale and
Sulpice in La Fille du Régiment with Arizona Opera,
Figaro in Le Nozze di Figaro and Padre Guardiano in La
forza del destino with Sarasota Opera; Mustafà in L’Italiana
in Algeri with Anchorage Opera; Osmin in Die Entführung
aus dem Serail with Lyric Opera of Kansas City; Daland in Der
Fliegende Holländer, Banquo in Macbeth, Oroveso
in Norma, and Leporello in Don Giovanni.
The crafty and clever Doctor Malatesta will be sung by baritone
Shon Sims who recently made his Houston Grand Opera debut as the
Pilot in The Little Prince. Other recent engagements include
Figaro in Il barbiere di Siviglia with Syracuse Opera, Eisenstein
in Die Fledermaus with Knoxville Opera and Dandini in La
cenerentola with Utah Festival Opera. Mr. Sims has also performed
Mercutio in Roméo et Juliette with Fort Worth Opera
and Figaro in Il barbiere di Siviglia with Harrisburg Opera.
Mr. Sims made his European debut as Figaro in Il barbiere di
Siviglia with the Teatro Nacional de Sao Carlos in Lisbon and
went on to sing Russell Paxton in Kurt Weill and Ira Gershwin’s Lady
in the Dark with the Teatro Massimo in Palermo, and with Teatro
dell’Opera di Roma. The opera will be conducted by Maestro
Thomas Conlin and directed by David Toulson. John Pascoe designed
both the scenery and costumes.
Join us for this hilarious story and see why Don Pasquale has
earned a permanent place among opera’s greatest comedies. Single
ticket prices begin at $26.00 and may be purchased online at www.toledoopera.org
or by phone at 419-255-7464. Discounts are available for students,
seniors and groups of 10 or more. Don Pasquale will be sung
in Italian with English translations projected above the stage. Generous
support for this production is provided the Ohio Arts Council. |
