The actual opera recedes into the background.
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| Susanne Burgess and the company. Photo by Eric Woolsey |
As part of its 50th Festival Season, Opera Theatre of St. Louis (OTSL) has elected to return to a classic opera buffa that was part of its very first season in 1976: Donizetti’s 1843 hit Don Pasquale. Returning as well is the director of the first production, Christopher Alden. That first Don Pasquale is hard to remember after all these years. The new one will be difficult to forget—which is not necessarily a good thing.
In his program notes, Alden says that the current production “replaces the period-specific picture postcard realism” of his original “with a more open-ended fluidity, in an attempt to conjure up a psychic space in which the eternal conflict between young and old can be seen from different shifting perspectives.”
OK, then.
In practice, that means using sight gags and other visual gimmicks to underline, reflect, and comment on the thoughts and emotional states of the characters. That’s not a bad concept as those things go . But when the music, lyrics, and singers are constantly upstaged by swarms of people in nearly constant motion, it all starts to feel less like Opera Theatre and more like Circus Flora.
The story and characters are pure commedia dell’arte with the serial numbers filed off. Don Pasquale, a rich old bachelor, decides to get married and to disinherit his rebellious nephew, Ernesto. But Ernesto’s crafty friend Dr. Malatesta cooks up a scheme to make Pasquale rethink marriage. Ernesto’s feisty fiancée Norina will disguise herself as Malatesta’s demure sister Sofronia and “marry” Pasquale in a bogus ceremony solemnized by a fake Notary. “Sofronia” then transforms into a domineering spendthrift, making Pasquale’s life unbearable. As chaos unfolds, Pasquale realizes he has been played, concedes defeat, and blesses the union of Ernesto and Norina.
Set in a “psychic space” that looks a lot like early 1960s Rome, this Don Pasquale boasts exuberantly colorful sets and costumes by Marsha Ginsberg, complimented by inventive wigs and makeup by Krystal Balleza and Will Vicarl. And my earlier comments aside, some of the sight gags did strike me as ingenious and funny.
A case in point is the absurdly large gold-colored chair, footstool, and lamp in Pasquale’s apartment that mock the character’s self-importance. As my wife noted at the time, the image of a little man with a big ego looking like a child on a golden throne is not only a good comment on Pasquale, but it also seems politically relevant. So does the Act I finale, in which Malatesta, Norina, and the omnipresent Notary rejoice at the prospect of Pasquale’s downfall while holding a “Viva la Resistenza” banner.
Mostly, though, it just felt like so much noise. Still, nothing succeeds like excess, as the old joke goes, and most of the opening night audience found it all quite hilarious. To steal a line from S.J. Perelman, “de gustibus ain’t what dey used to be.”
The saving grace of this production is its cast. Bass-baritone Patrick Carfizzi, who was such an outstanding Don Basilio in The Barber of Seville last season, once again demonstrates his impeccable comic timing and big, accurate voice in the role of Don Pasquale. He punches out those low notes with ease and handles the rapid-fire patter songs with ease, despite all the on-stage distractions,
Baritone Kyle Miller is not just wily as Dr. Malatesta—a pun on mal di testa (headache), which is what he proves to be for Pasquale—but also moves with the kind of grace I’d associate with a dancer. It’s an unusual look for the character but works quite well.
Soprano Susanne Burgess has the coloratura chops for the role of Norina, along with the sass and spark needed to make this character fun. She lights up the stage whenever she appears—a good thing since Norina dominates the second and third acts.
The role of Ernesto can be a bit one-dimensional, but tenor Charles Sy brings out the tragic heartbreak of his Act II “renunciation” aria. He also makes the most of some comic business Alden has given him in the Act III garden scene. Decked out in a cheesy blue brocade tux and shades for his serenade to Norina (“Com ‘ è gentil la notte a mezzo / How soft and light is the spell of the night”), he’s the very model of a 1960s lounge singer. When Norina joins him for their duet (“Tornami a dir che m’ami / Tell me again you love me”) it becomes a “Steve and Eydie” moment that’s both romantic and risible.
Last but certainly not least for the Opera Theatre audience, the celebrated soprano and educator Sheri Greenawald, who sang Norina back in OTSL’s 1976 production, played the Notary. As written, the Notary is a comic cameo but in recognition of Greenawald’s many starring roles at OTSL over the years (to say nothing of a long and distinguished operatic career in general), Alden has elevated the role to a kind of Greek Chorus. Silently observing the action and putting in a bit of pantomime now and then, Greenawald clearly had a lot of fans on hand opening night and got a massive ovation at the end.
In his OTSL debut, guest conductor Kensho Watanabe led members of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra (SLSO) in an outstanding reading of Donizetti’s tuneful score. There were some fine solo moments from (among others) Principal Cello Daniel Lee and Associate Principal Horn Thomas Jöstlein. A special shout-out is due to SLSO Principal Trumpet Steven Franklin for his lyrical solo in the Act II Prelude.
I really wanted to like this Don Pasquale. Having greatly enjoyed the 2023 Union Avenue Opera production as well as the Norina/Malatesta scene that was part of that same year’s Center Stage concert at OTSL, I know this is a very funny piece taken on its own terms and was looking forward to what OTSL would do with it for its 50th anniversary.
Ah, well. As the old song goes, “you can’t always get what you want.”
Don Pasquale runs through June 27th on the Browning Mainstage Theatre at the Loretto-Hilton Center on the Webster University campus. More information on times and tickets for the Opera Theatre season can be found at their web site.
This article originally appeared at St. Louis Arts Scene, where Chuck Lavazzi is the founder and principal critic.
