Don Pasquale | Gaetano Donizetti

Once upon a time, there was a form of society, called patriarchal, where the old dominated the young and where women were entirely submissive to men... Let's not go any further, this is not a fairy tale, this society does exist. The proof: we recognize its reflections very well. One of the great pleasures of classical comedy in general, and of commedia dell' arte in particular, consists in seeing this "order" overturned, and its victims avenged: whatever happens, the young people who love each other must have the last word, and the age that establishes the power of the elders is precisely what must cause their fall. Don Pasquale is one of the last representatives of a centuries-old tradition, and almost the swan song of the opera buffa. The rich and windy uncle is Pantaloon; Ernesto, the rebellious nephew in love with the young first lady, is Pierrot. And who is his beloved Colombine? Here's the surprise: the comic spring that animates Norina is more like a tame Shrew... if one dares say so. The plot is of an assumed fantasy. With the complicity of the cunning Malatesta, in order to save her love, the "timid" Norina pretends to marry Don Pasquale and, once married, transforms herself into an indomitable, tyrannical, spendthrift domestic fury, greedy for diamonds - and lovers. The old rich man will have to admit defeat and consent to anything... A master of lyrical humour, Donizetti has put all his verve, rhythmic inventiveness and acute sense of farce into a frenzied score that has been an undeniable success since its creation.