Diva Opera: Don Pasquale
Don Pasquale by Gaetano Donizetti
Attention all men: Marriage can seriously damage your health! Well, it certainly seems so to elderly bachelor Don Pasquale as he becomes the victim of a clever plot to disillusion him of the notion of conjugal bliss, leaving the way open for his long-suffering nephew to marry the girl of his dreams.
Donizetti’s masterpiece is one of the most popular comedies in the entire operatic repertoire. Matthew Hargreaves stars as Don Pasquale with Elizabeth Karani as Norina, Matthew Durkan as Dr. Malatesta and Michael Bell as Ernesto.
“A performance that crowns a form of “girl power.”
“Matthew Hargreaves, one of the pillars of the troupe, plays Don Pasquale without being excessively ridiculous, with his laughable ways of playing excessive authority and hilarious panic in the face of the costly excesses of his new wife.” Olyrix France
CREATIVE TEAM
General Director: Anne Marabini Young
Music Director and Piano: Bryan Evans
Stage Director: Wayne Morris
Original Costume Designs: Nicola Jackson
Additional Costume Designs: Charlotte Hillier and Anne Marabini Young
Choreographer: Jenny Weston
Italian Coach: Fiona Murray
Company Stage Manager: David Stephenson
Stage Manager: Richard Tall
Technical Manager: Daniel Miller
Wardrobe Supervisor: Charlotte Hillier
Wig Mistress: Joanne Berry
CAST
Don Pasquale: Matthew Hargreaves
Ernesto: Michael Bell
Norina: Elizabeth Karani
Malatesta: Matthew Durkan
Notary: Ambrose Connolly
Ensemble: Amelia Langley, Sophie Mohler, Peter Van Hulle
About Diva Opera
Now in its 29th year, Diva Opera, Britain’s foremost chamber opera company, was founded by Anne Marabini Young and Bryan Evans to take opera out of the confines of the theatre and bring it to unique settings. Since its inception, the company has earned an unrivalled reputation within the operatic world and beyond. Giving around 40 performances of full operas and concerts annually, they are now ambassadors for chamber opera internationally. Highlights for the company include a performance of La Cenerentola at La Fenice Opera House in Venice, The party scene from Die Fledermaus at the Royal Albert Hall, with José Carreras and Dame Kiri Te Kanawa as special guests and performances at the Tokyo International Forum for the prestigious French music festival La Folle Journée. This year they have toured to South Africa, Channel Islands, France and throughout the UK with Don Pasquale and Le Nozze di Figaro, receiving great critical acclaim for their performances. Diva Opera is generously supported by the Laidlaw Opera Trust.
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