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Alessandro Corbelli

Don Pasquale

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Nikolay Borchev

Doctor Malatesta

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Alek Shrader

Ernesto

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Danielle de Niese

Norina

James Platt

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Anna-Marie Sullivan

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Enrique Mazzola

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Mariame Clément

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Julia Hansen

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Jeremy Bines

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Bernd Purkrabek

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Hailed by The Financial Times as "a Glyndebourne classic", Mariame Clément's 2013 production of Donizetti's Don Pasquale is remembered as a highlight of the celebrated festival's past seasons. Her perceptive re-interpretation of the masterpiece starred the opera buffa expert Alessandro Corbelli as Don Pasquale and the scintillating soprano Danielle de Niese as Norina, joined by the London Philharmonic Orchestra and the Glyndebourne Chorus under the baton of Enrique Mazzola.

In 1842, the director of Paris' Théâtre-Italien Jules Janin suggested to Donizetti the idea of composing a new opera tailored to the talents of Giulia Grisi, Antonio Tamburini, and Luigi Lablache, some of the most popular singers of the day. Donizetti took him at his word, and produced a work now considered the high point of the 19th-century opera buffa tradition. Drawing on selected commedia dell'arte stock characters, the librettist Giovanni Ruffini (in collaboration with Donizetti himself) brought to life in unforgiving detail the story of the curmudgeonly old Don Pasquale, who decides to marry in order to disinherit his nephew Ernesto for himself wanting to marry a young woman judged unsuitable by his uncle. To select a bride, Don Pasquale turns to Dr. Malatesta, who recommends his own convent-raised sister Sofronia. Little does Don Pasquale know that the girl is actually Ernesto's love, Norina, in disguise...

One of the reasons why Donizetti’s Don Pasquale is regarded as a cornerstone of the Italian comic opera tradition is because its characters are no mere commedia dell’arte stereotypes, but complex, vulnerable human beings. This is brought to the fore in Mariame Clément’s sensitive and perceptive production, which was hailed by the Financial Times as "a Glyndebourne classic". Acclaimed buffo baritone Alessandro Corbelli sings the title role "with just the right degree of lugubriousness", while Danielle de Niese, one of today’s most sought-after sopranos, is an "engaging" and "irresistible" Norina (The Telegraph). Bel canto specialist Enrique Mazzola conducts with flair and panache.

Don Pasquale (Donizetti), 2013
There’s no fool like an old fool in Mariame Clement’s much-loved production of Donizetti’s comedy, Don Pasquale.

Don Pasquale Donizetti

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English

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Following her acclaimed debut as Adina in the 2011 Festival production of L'elisir d'amore, Danielle de Niese continues her exploration of Donizetti, perform...

Don Pasquale Trailer 2013

Don Pasquale by Donizetti, From (2013/2013), Directed by Mariame Clément,, Conductor Enrique Mazzola, Opera House, Glyndebourne, United Kingdom

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