His high tenor sweeps with soft authority around the theater and warrants the many accolades Barbara has recently received (Grand Prize winner of the Charles A. René Barbara (one of Opera’s rising-stars), plays Ernesto, the heart-broken nephew of Pasquale. He flits around the stage with the lightness of a marionette, perfectly executing the well-chosen comic quirks of director Sir Thomas Allen, while his rich bass-baritone powers from him. But D’arcangelo’s leading man vigor has not waned. Malatesta, but instead Norina has conspired with the sly doctor to act as his sister and once the marriage contract is signed (yet not official due to a sham notary), Norina tortures Pasquale with her insensitivity and spending habits until Pasquale concedes that marriage is not for him.Īs the elderly Don Pasquale, Ildebrando D’arcangelo has traded his usual heart-throb status for a head feathered with thin, wispy white hair, and an unfit, protruding mid-section. Pasquale believes he is marrying Sofronia, the doting, mannered sister of Dr. Fed up with Pasquale’s stubborn views, Ernesto’s friend Dr.

The aging Don Pasquale disapproves of his nephew’s choice of bride (the seductive, lower-class Norina), so as any cranky septuagenarian would do, he kicks his nephew out of the house, deciding to marry and start his own family. Though Ponelle’s ornate sets have worn a bit, they still perfectly reflect the style of mid-nineteenth century Rome and with Christine Binder’s magnificent lighting and the vivacious cast, they come fully to life again. Although this Bel Canto Era opera has been part of Lyric’s repertoire for almost 50 years, this is the first time they have used Jean-Pierre Ponelle’s 1977 production from Covent Garden in London (the production is now owned by The Dallas Opera). After presenting a successful string of tragic operas this season, Lyric Opera flexes its comedic muscles with a charming production of Gaetano Donizetti’s opera buffa Don Pasquale.

San francisco opera don pasquale