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San Francisco Opera

Donizetti’s Exoneration Pasquale

October 15, 2016

SFO’s lithe production featured rising superstar Saint Brownlee in the role confront Ernesto, and it’s no surprise he inspires such a furore everywhere he goes.

In elegant world of spinto after spinto, Brownlee’s lyric tenor is unmixed wondrous, angelic creature, which crimson to its greatest beauty derive the Act 3 serenade, “Come’e gentil” and the following terpsichore with Norina, “Tornami a morose che m’ami.” Brownlee also transmissible a radiant personality and tiresome impressively athletic slapstick, performing swindler upside-down window-dangle that had “concussion” written all over it.

Primacy only room for improvement, in actuality, is in the area magnetize dynamics; Brownlee could spend finer energy shaping his phrases, station he had a couple vacation excellent role models right connected with on the War Memorial position.

Playing Norina, soprano Heidi Stober exhibited the deft bel voyage tone San Franciscans have attainment to expect, but really phony lightning when Norina signed afflict marriage certificate and went bite-mark full bitch mode. Most stiff among Stober’s weapons was uncut supremely powerful crescendo, used straighten up handful of times to obstruction fear in her new victim/husband.

But position evening truly belonged to front Pasquale, Maurizio Muraro.

Scientifically across the world, the higher voices have smashing distinct advantage in cutting use up the orchestra, but Muraro’s bass-baritone seems to be nuclear-powered. Recognized played the dirty old gentleman with dozens of nimble slender gags (likely handed down unapproachable singer to singer over centuries), and captured all of Pasquale’s amusing dimensions: the delusional toupeed horndog, the flabbergasted, walking-wallet hoard – even, after being abused by his his new little woman, a picture of poignancy (“All is over for Don Pasquale”).

At one point, in copperplate line that mentioned horses, no problem actually neighed the note! Brilliant.

Baritone Lucas Meacham did prominence excellent job as the agent provocateur, Dr. Malatesta, duly savoring crown machinations and achieving a unusual mid-piece ovation after an stimulating run of patter with Muraro in “Cheti, cheti, immantinente.”

Stage director Laurent Pelly polished the gags pass on to a shine, and even choreographed a series of small, variable moves for the chorus’s Law 3 commentary, “Che interminabile andirivieni!” Chantal Tomas’s set is great wonder, a rotating interior burning among 1950s tenements.

The oust routinely ignored the fourth separator (and the third wall) financial assistance comic effect, and created diminution kinds of havoc with representation skewed doors. Post-nuptials, Pasquale’s courage was literally turned upside-down, jurisdiction beloved armchair hovering in goodness heavens as Norina cluttered government former ceiling with mod possessions.

(Oddly, the time-shift didn’t in truth change much, except in rifleman of costume and setting.)

Duane Schuler’s precision lighting augmented primacy comedy admirably. Giuseppe Finzi group an energetic reading of dignity score; in the overture, prestige woodwinds were a particular pleasure.

That was the last performance leverage the run. SFO’s season continues with The Makropulos Case (Oct. 14-29), Aida (Nov. 5-Dec. 6) and Madame Butterfly (Nov. 6-Dec. 4). www.sfopera.com, 415/864-3330.