Disposable: Don Pasquale at the ROH
Don Pasquale
Royal Opera
Royal Opera House
Stalls Circle D3 standing, £13
14 October 2019
ROH page
I fear I had unrealistic expectations for Don Pasquale. I assumed my standing position with a gentle, flickering hope that this could be the next L’elisir d’amore in my life (not that I’m planning to let go of the first one); maybe it would bring the same sweet joy wrapped in killer tunes. Reality bites, or maybe weakly gnaws: while I found Don Pasquale nowhere near as tiresome as La Fille mal gardée, still, I think, once is enough.
The production from another European think-meister Damiano Michieletto seems a touch overblown for such a silly short thing, but it has some good jokes. The best is the snazzy reveal of Don Pasquale’s Norina-transformed house, which justly won a smattering of applause. Following fast on its heels, though, came an example of where less might have been more: three puppets and puppet masters illustrated a turn of events in a way that had no tonal or visual consistency with the rest of the show and seemed primarily a means of filling the space without having to ask the singers to do too much. I think the budget holder could have vetoed the puppets to collective good.
Of the singing I wondered if Bryn Terfel in the title role is no longer a safe pair of hands. I was surprised at his turn a few years ago towards buffo but have much enjoyed his Dulcamara and not minded his Falstaff. But even in this little opera his sound, as in Boris Godunov, is a bit pushed, and his patter stutters far behind Markus Werba’s polished Malatesta. Werba was a highlight for me, alongside Olga Peretyatko as Norina, whose voice and presence both are loud, pretty and stylistically on point with the particular demands of this fluffy, dare I say disposable, opera.
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