showtimesDon Pasquale
Comic opera in three acts. In Italian with supertitles. Don Pasquale is fundamentally an unsympathetic character. He is so wealthy yet so stingy that everything in life irritates him, or worse still: bores him. But when his nephew (and designated heir) Ernesto wants to marry beneath his station, Pasquale's zest for life is awakened. Even as a confirmed bachelor, he decides to take a young bride and father children, simply to prevent Ernesto from inheriting anything. However, he hasn't reckoned with his nephew and Ernesto's beloved Norina, who immediately conspire with the dubious Dr. Malatesta, recklessly putting Ernesto's love at stake in the process. In Gaetano Donizetti's vast operatic output, Don Pasquale is a brilliant example of the composer's sparkling yet shrewd and double-edged humor, and at the same time a pure bel canto opera of the highest order. Comedy specialist Matthias Rippert will be directing an opera for the first time with this production.
