Review: Arizona Opera's 'Don Pasquale'
Opera aficionados tired of the old "park and bark" won't want to miss Arizona Opera's animated take on "Don Pasquale" set during the golden age of Hollywood.
The company's season finale is playing through Sunday, April 27, at the Orpheum Theatre in Phoenix. Built in the 1920s, the venue's colorfully ornate, even kitschy architecture is the perfect setting for a lavish production bursting with nostalgic glamour and cheeky humor.
In director Chuck Hudson's version of the 1843 opera buffa by Donizetti, the lilting overture is accompanied by video projections that introduce the title character as an aging star of the silent-film era, and when bass-baritone Craig Colclough takes the stage, we find him psychically stuck in the black-and-white past, right down to his powdered mop and whiteface makeup.
Desperate to reclaim his virile past, Pasquale has asked his friend Dr. Malatesta to procure a wife young enough to be his granddaughter. But Malatesta has other plans and conscripts Hollywood starlet Norina — the lover of Pasquale's nephew — to pose as the bride. Once the faux nuptials are completed, she transforms from demure virgin to flamboyant party girl, running up outrageous bills for jewelry, dresses and a swanky soiree with chorus members impersonating the likes of Elvis Presley and Carmen Miranda.
The production is packed with clever sight gags, including a lovely Busby Berkeley moment during the cocktail party. Credit for some of the biggest laughs goes to costume designer Kathleen Trott, but they are best left unspoiled.
Performances are excellent across the board, both comedically and musically. Colclough's lascivious bluster in no way undermines his vocal gymnastics, while Andrea Shokery's tangy soprano as Norina and Chris Carr's molasses baritone as Malatesta are simply delicious.
"Pasquale" also represents a breakthrough for tenor David Margulis as the nephew, Ernesto. Now in his second year in the company's Marion Roose Pullin Opera Studio program for young artists, he has appeared in minor roles in several productions, but he hasn't had the chance to shine as he does here, whether singing a swooning duet with Shokery or pulling off an ingenious bit of physical comedy.
The 2013-14 season has been a strong one for Arizona Opera, highlighted by a lush "Bohéme" and an elegant "Traviata." Musically, "Pasquale" isn't in the same league — Donizetti's bel canto workouts, ably and passionately conducted here by Keitaro Harada, are pretty enough, but not nearly as distinctive as Puccini or Verdi. But for pure entertainment, this impish interpretation makes for a satisfying dessert.
Reach the reviewer at kerry.lengel@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-4896.
Arizona Opera: 'Don Pasquale'
Reviewed Friday, April 25. Remaining performances: 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 26, and 2 p.m. Sunday, April 27. Orpheum Theatre, 203 W. Adams St., Phoenix. $25-$135. 602-266-7464, azopera.org.