Composed by Gaetano Donizetti

Libretto by Giovanni Ruffini

Conducted by Stuart Stratford

Direction and Choreography by Renaud Doucet

Review by Dominic Corr

Audiences find themselves in the Swinging Sixties, Rome, with the Scottish Opera’s long-awaited return trip to Donizetti’s deliciously sparkling comic opera, which has lost none of the sparkle and wit it showcased a decade ago. An exemplary example of an accessible piece for newcomers (and a return for those dab-hands who have been eagerly anticipating it), the quick-pacing and jaunty fun of Don Pasquale makes this a successful revival and a stellar introduction to a fresh world for audiences.

Family may mean everything to many, but for the smartest folks in the room, love is the true force at play here. Opening in a projected fotoromanzi-style to playfully reveal the initial plot threads to offer quick access, Renaud Doucet and André Barbe’s setting and costume is as bold and rich a player this evening than any vocal onstage with the ‘upstairs downstairs’ of the washing line rooftops for gossip and cigarillos, to the lurid colours and decaying pensione below – refreshingly re-imagined for audiences for plenty of visual humour in the background of scenes.  

Feline-fascinated Don Pasquale may have an aversion to the real-deal kitty-cats (down to a severe allergy) and an aversion to healthy living or exercise, ensuring he becomes as much a part of the furniture as any of the many lurid and tasteful trinkets which adorn any empty space of the decaying pensione he lounges within. David Stout continues their renowned capability for demonstrating the performative nature of the libretto – their bass-baritone vocals command a pompous and prostrating Don Pasquale the audience loves to see stumble down a few pegs. But that’s not to dimmish the good-natured japery and patter, particularly act three, ‘Aspetta, aspetta, cara sposina’, performed with aplomb by Stout and Josef Jeongmeen Ahn’s Dr. Malatesta. 

In an effort to secure his fortune and cut out his nephew Ernesto (performed with plenty of vigour and talent in Filipe Manu), Don Pasquale embarks on a quest to sire an heir and find love in the process. But finding out that it isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, thanks to the cunning guile of Malatesta, Ernesto, and his beloved Norina. Playing the role in the Glasgow run, Simone Osborne’s Norina (subbing in for Stacey Alleaume) is a practical character but utterly devours and relishes the idea of puncturing Pasquale for every penny his greedy hands have saved. And they absolutely sell their ‘additional’ performances as a couple more fictitious roles. The chemistry and balances of the cast in performance vocals are often exquisite, making full use of the space for visual gags as the eager and colourful chorus fills in and swells the spectacle, even for an opera which places more into solos and duets rather than choral pieces – save for a gloriously gossipy act three where tongues wag (and maybe a tail from an extraordinary guest star).

There’s talent from the Scottish Opera repertoire; Scottish baritone Jonathan Forbes Kennedy as the fake notary playing along with the charade is a nice touch. As well as Steven Faughey’s physically nimble use of comedy and farce as the slimey cook. As always, Stuart Stratford’s conduction of the Scottish Opera orchestra fills the theatre with melody and tune, here in a manner that befits the comedy, often bouncing or enhancing the physical performances on stage. It aids in creating a piece which not only maintains the spark and creativity of its 2014 incarnation but flourishes for fresh audiences, which, befittingly, finds itself perfectly situated in the Autumnal season, flooding life and Italian sunshine into the cooling winds of Glasgow; a very welcome production, with a cheeky grin and a powerful voice.

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