Programs · Episode

DONIZETTI: Don Pasquale

Program: At the Opera
Aired: Saturday, March 2, 2024 @ 6:00 pm
Hosted by Lisa Simeone

Donizetti composed any number of irresistible operatic comedies, including The Elixir of Love and The Daughter of the Regiment. This sparkling score may be the best of them all — and it apparently took him just two weeks to write it! Don Pasquale was an instant hit at its 1843 premiere, in Paris, and within a few months had also been heard in Milan, Vienna and London.

FEATURED RECORDINGS:

Sarah Caldwell, conductor
London Symphony Orchestra, Ambrosian Opera Chorus
CAST: Beverly Sills (Norina); Donald Gramm (Don Pasquale); Alfredo Kraus (Ernesto); Alan Titus (Dr. Malatesta)
(EMI 66030) 

Ettore Gracis, conductor
Orchestra and Chorus of the Maggio Musicale, Florence
CAST: Alfredo Mariotti (Don Pasquale); Anna Maccianti (Norina); Ego Benelli (Ernesto); Mario Basiola (Dr. Malatesta) (DG 4775631) 

Riccardo Muti, conductor
Philharmonia Orchestra, Ambrosian Opera Chorus
CAST: Sesto Bruscantini (Don Pasquale); Mirella Freni (Norina); Gösta Winbergh (Ernesto); Leo Nucci (Dr. Malatesta)
(EMI 47068)

MORE ABOUT THE OPERA:

Early in his career, Mozart wrote a comic opera with a title that sounds like a joke all on its own: The Goose of Cairo. It's an opera that's almost never heard. In fact, Mozart never even finished it. Yet it's part of a long, theatrical heritage that spawned some of opera's greatest hits. 

The story of The Goose of Cairo involves a cranky and arrogant older man obsessed with the romantic future of a much younger woman, and willing to do just about anything to keep her away from the man she truly loves. Sound familiar? It should. There are lots more operas that share that same basic theme, including one of the greatest comic operas of all time: Rossini's The Barber of Seville. And there are dozens of others with similar plots, dating all the way back to the earliest days of opera. 

That's because all the operas in question exploit some basic character types that originated long ago, with the Italian tradition of commedia dell'arte. Mozart's own The Marriage of Figaro is one example, along with Puccini's Gianni Schicchi, and even a few tragic operas, such as Leoncavallo's Pagliacci. 

Not surprisingly, none of the operas just mentioned uses these standard character types straight out of the box. Their composers were adept at crafting unique and complex characters while using just enough of the traditional models to make them familiar and appealing. 

The composer who did it best of all may have been Gaetano Donizetti. His comic hit The Elixir of Love uses a few bits of commedia dell'arte. But the Donizetti opera that does it best – complete with an old grump trying, and failing, to control a willful young woman – is the comedy featured here: Don Pasquale. 

Throughout his career, Donizetti churned out wonderful melodies, not to mention complete operas, at an amazing clip. By many counts, Don Pasquale was his 64th opera, and he finished it in barely two weeks. Its premiere in Paris, early in 1843, was an instant success. Within a few months it had been heard all across Europe, and by 1846 the opera made it all the way to New York City, where it was performed in English. 

On At the Opera,  Lisa Simeone brings us a thorough look at Donizetti's brilliant comedy, using three, exceptional recordings. One is a top-notch, but sometimes overlooked release from 1965, featuring the fine Italian bass Alfredo Mariotti in the title role, with soprano Anna Maccianti and tenor Ugo Benelli as Norina and Ernesto. We'll also hear a 1982 recording with bass Sesto Bruscantini, soprano Mirella Freni and tenor Gösta Winbergh, with conductor Riccardo Muti. And, from 1978, conductor Sarah Caldwell leads the London Symphony Orchestra and a cast including soprano Beverly Sills, tenor Alfredo Krauss, and bass Donald Gramm.

Playlist