Donizetti - Don Pasquale (Riccardo Muti, Ferruccio Furlanetto) [2007]

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Donizetti - Don Pasquale (Riccardo Muti, Ferruccio Furlanetto) [2007]

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Don Pasquale is one of the few Donizetti operas that seem never to have dropped out of favor (along with Lucia, Elisir d’amore, and to a lesser extent, Fille du regiment). In today’s operatic world, when many of my colleagues find my tastes ringard (impossible to translate, with a combination of “old-fashioned” and “corny” coming closest), I can only say that this production was singularly enjoyable, following both the letter and the spirit of the work. Unlike other productions I have seen—where Norina was constantly hammering at Pasquale so that the slap went for nothing when it finally occurred, or recently where act I took place at an outdoor café with enormous crowds so that all intimacy was lost, and where Ernesto had to sing his cabaletta while brushing his teeth—everything was in its place and allowed the music to come through. Thank you, producer Stefano Vizioli.
Riccardo Muti almost smiles at one point, and his affection for this minor masterpiece is evident. There is no dawdling, but we are touched by the plight of Don Pasquale. Ferrucio Furlanetto is not the dodgy geezer but a sprightly 70-year-old, as Pasquale himself admits. Lucio Gallo’s Malatesta makes a better job of his coloratura than most other baritones today, while hearing the young Gregory Kunde is a reminder of what he was capable of a dozen years before his unfortunate Roderick in Rossini’s Donna del lago (reviewed elsewhere). Nuccia Focile sings up a storm and plays her role(s) to perfection. Muti allows Kunde some true variation in the only “genuine” cabaletta, and probably should have done the same for Norina in the rondo-finale. The Scala forces are at their best for their maestro, and Patrizia Carmine’s filming is unobtrusive (that’s how I like it), so this can be recommended for those whose tastes are as ringard as mine.
– Joel Kasow, FANFARE

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Donizetti - Don Pasquale (Riccardo Muti, Ferruccio Furlanetto) [2007]

Close