Gaetano Donizetti - Don Pasquale (2007) [DVD9 NTSC]

Gaetano Donizetti - Don Pasquale (2007) [DVD9 NTSC]


Video: 16:9 NTSC
Audio: LPCM Stereo, DTS 5.1
Subtitles: English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Chinese
# Actors: Juan Diego Florez, Ruggero Raimondi, Isabel Rey, Oliver Widmer, Valeriy Murga
# Directors: Grischa Asagaroff
# Number of discs: 1
# Studio: Decca
# DVD Release Date: September 25, 2007
# Run Time: 120 minutes


.: Tracklist :.


This 2006 Zurich Opera production of Donizetti's popular Don Pasquale captures not only the opera's high-spirited comedy but also its underlying cruelty. Featuring veteran bass-baritone Ruggerio Raimondi in the title role and a fine supporting cast, this DVD has what no other version of the opera has--tenor Juan Diego Flórez as the Don's nephew, the lovelorn Ernesto--and his brilliant portrayal makes this a must-see for any admirer of great singing.

The basic plot of the opera is a time-worn comedy staple: the foolish old man who seeks a young wife. The Don's doctor and advisor, Dr. Malatesta, hatches a scheme to trick the old man into a fake marriage with Norina, a young widow in love with Malatesta's friend, the Don's nephew, Ernesto. She's presented to the Don as the Doctor's sister, fresh from the convent school, whose demure demeanor captivates the victim who immediately agrees to the "marriage." Once that's accomplished, she turns into a spendthrift shrew who drives the Don to the brink of suicide. Ernesto, plunged into despair when he thinks his beloved abandoned him for his uncle, is finally brought into the scheme and plays his part in the trick. All ends well when the Don realizes his foolishness, blesses the young couple's union and agrees to a handsome annual allowance for them.

Flórez will make you forget other tenors who have sung Ernesto. His voice is sweet and tender but with a touch of steel in its upper range, adding excitement as when he ends a heavily ornamented passage with a ringing top D-flat. His pianissimos are ravishing and his last-act aria, Com'è gentil is radiant. Raimondi, drier of voice than in his younger days, is a fine Don Pasquale, acting with comic brio, breaking into dances of joy when his proposal seems to be working, and plunging into comedy-tinged despair when it turns sour. As Dr. Malatesta, baritone Oliver Widmer is appropriately slimy. Norina is Spanish soprano Isabel Rey, who delivers an accomplished vocal and acting performance, handling her coloratura turns with aplomb and acting with brio. Nello Santi conducts with appropriate Donizettian energy.

Stage director Grischa Asagoroff and designer Luigi Perego move the setting from the mid-19th century to the 1920s, so Ernesto enters in a tennis outfit, Don Pasquale's clothes include a broadly striped double-breasted white suit with spats, and the Don's drawing room changes from stuffy old-fashioned décor to a garish pink-dominated horror after Norina takes charge. The Don's prime activity when not fulminating about his nephew or donning a tawdry wig to woo Norina is caressing his collection of teddy bears. But his pain is all too evident after the transformed Norina slaps him and the inescapable undercurrent of cruelty is fully brought out, making the last act reversals less convincing. TV director Felix Breisach's cameras efficiently convey the stage action, though the many close-ups make it obvious that Ernesto's beloved is old enough to be his mother. But Flórez's vocalism alone is enough to make this the preferred Don Pasquale. --Dan Davis.

FROM AMAZON


Track List
1.
Donizetti: Don Pasquale - Titles
1:33
Gaetano Donizetti (1797 - 1848)
Don Pasquale
2.
Overture
7:17
Orchestra of the Opernhaus Zürich, Nello Santi

Act 1

3.
"Son nov'ore"
3:03
4.
"Bella siccome un angelo"
4:32
Oliver Widmer, Ruggero Raimondi, Orchestra of the Opernhaus Zürich, Nello Santi
5."Ah! Un foco insolito"
2:22
Ruggero Raimondi, Orchestra of the Opernhaus Zürich, Nello Santi
6.
"Son rinato"
2:12
7.
"Prender moglie?"
1:40
8.
Sogno soave e casto
4:05
9.
Ah! Mi fa il destin mendico
2:57
Juan Diego Flórez, Ruggero Raimondi, Orchestra of the Opernhaus Zürich, Nello Santi
10.
"Quel guardo il cavaliere"
2:09
11.
"So anch'io la virtù magica"
3:52
Isabel Rey, Orchestra of the Opernhaus Zürich, Nello Santi
12.
"E il dottor non si vede!"
2:44
13
"Pronta io son"
3:12
14.
Mi volete fiera?
4:07
Isabel Rey, Oliver Widmer, Orchestra of the Opernhaus Zürich, Nello Santi

Act 2

15.
Preludio
2:31
Orchestra of the Opernhaus Zürich, Nello Santi
16.
"Povero Ernesto!"
1:34
17.
"Cercherò lontana terra"
5:50
Juan Diego Flórez, Orchestra of the Opernhaus Zürich, Nello Santi
18.
"Quando avrete introdotto"
1:30
Ruggero Raimondi, Orchestra of the Opernhaus Zürich, Nello Santi
19.
"Via, da brava"
4:08
20.
"Non abbiate paura"
4:13
Isabel Rey, Oliver Widmer, Ruggero Raimondi, Orchestra of the Opernhaus Zürich, Nello Santi
21.
"Fra da un parte"
3:56
22.
"Ah, figluol, non mi far scene"
3:58
Isabel Rey, Juan Diego Flórez, Oliver Widmer, Ruggero Raimondi, Valeriy Murga, Orchestra of the Opernhaus Zürich, Nello Santi
23.
"E'rimasto là imprietrato"
2:29
24.
"Riunita immantinente la servitù"
5:21
Isabel Rey, Juan Diego Flórez, Oliver Widmer, Ruggero Raimondi, Orchestra of the Opernhaus Zürich, Nello Santi

Act 3

25.
"I diamanti, presto, presto"
1:23
Ruggero Raimondi, Chor des Opernhauses Zürich, Orchestra of the Opernhaus Zürich, Nello Santi
26.
"Vediamo: alla modista"
1:32
Ruggero Raimondi, Orchestra of the Opernhaus Zürich, Nello Santi
27.
"Signorina, in tanta fretta"
3:02
28.
"E'finita, Don Pasquale"
5:52
Isabel Rey, Ruggero Raimondi, Orchestra of the Opernhaus Zürich, Nello Santi
29.
"Qualche notta di cuffie"
1:09
Ruggero Raimondi, Orchestra of the Opernhaus Zürich, Nello Santi
30.
"Che interminabile andirivieni!"
4:22
Chor des Opernhauses Zürich, Orchestra of the Opernhaus Zürich, Nello Santi
31.
"Siamo intesi"
3:23
Juan Diego Flórez, Oliver Widmer, Ruggero Raimondi, Orchestra of the Opernhaus Zürich, Nello Santi
32.
"Cheti, cheti, immantinente"
3:31
33.
"Aspetta, aspetta, cara sposina"
5:37
Oliver Widmer, Ruggero Raimondi, Orchestra of the Opernhaus Zürich, Nello Santi
34.
"Com'è gentil"
4:18
Juan Diego Flórez, Chor des Opernhauses Zürich, Orchestra of the Opernhaus Zürich, Nello Santi
35.
"Tornami a dir"
3:49
Isabel Rey, Juan Diego Flórez, Orchestra of the Opernhaus Zürich, Nello Santi
36.
"Eccoli: attendi ben..."
3:49
Isabel Rey, Oliver Widmer, Ruggero Raimondi, Orchestra of the Opernhaus Zürich, Nello Santi
37.
"La morale in tutto questo"
6:54
Isabel Rey, Juan Diego Flórez, Oliver Widmer, Ruggero Raimondi, Orchestra of the Opernhaus Zürich, Nello Santi
38.
Donizetti: Don Pasquale - Closing Credits
0:57



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