One of the best known farces in opera literature, Don Pasquale puts even the funniest films to shame with its situational comedy, colourful characters and sparkling humour. Its music is particular virtuosic: the famous duet between Doctor Malatesta and Don Pasquale makes for a perennial gala-night favourite. At the same time, delving a bit deeper into the story reveals that it is really about timeless human problems and desires, disappointments and disillusionments: an elderly gent longing for a mate, lovers yearning for a decent life, mistrustful kinsfolk, a money-hungry friend.
Csaba Káel's direction emphasises the eternal validity of the themes, showing the spectacular dramatic content at the heart of the situations, the fear of loneliness, the many faces of love, the tragedy which came within a hair's breadth of a happy ending. With nuanced devices of stylization, the production focuses on the timeless tale and its eternal relevance.
AUTHORS
Composer: Gaetano Donizetti
Librettist: Gaetano Donizetti, Giovanni Ruffini
Director: Csaba Káel
Set designer: Éva Szendrényi
Costume designer: Anikó Németh
Choreographer: András Nádasdy
Chorus director: Gábor Csiki
