San Francisco Opera
Donizetti’s Don Pasquale
October 15, 2016
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| Maurizio Muraro as Don Pasquale. All photos by Cory Weaver. |
SFO’s effervescent production featured rising superstar
Lawrence Brownlee in the role of Ernesto, and it’s no wonder he inspires such a
hubbub everywhere he goes. In a world of spinto after spinto, Brownlee’s lyric
tenor is a wondrous, angelic creature, which rose to its greatest beauty in the
Act 3 serenade, “Come’e gentil” and the following duet with Norina, “Tornami a
dir che m’ami.” Brownlee also transmitted a radiant personality and some
impressively athletic slapstick, performing an upside-down window-dangle that
had “concussion” written all over it.
The only room for improvement, really, is in the area of
dynamics; Brownlee could spend more energy shaping his phrases, and he had a
couple of excellent role models right there on the War Memorial stage. Playing
Norina, soprano Heidi Stober exhibited the deft bel canto tone San Franciscans
have come to expect, but really struck lightning when Norina signed her
marriage certificate and went into full bitch mode. Most notable among Stober’s
weapons was a supremely powerful crescendo, used a handful of times to strike
fear in her new victim/husband.
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| Heidi Stober as Norina. |
But the evening truly belonged to our Pasquale, Maurizio
Muraro. Scientifically speaking, the higher voices have a distinct advantage in
cutting through the orchestra, but Muraro’s bass-baritone seems to be
nuclear-powered. He played the dirty old man with dozens of nimble little gags
(likely handed down from singer to singer over centuries), and captured all of
Pasquale’s amusing dimensions: the delusional toupeed horndog, the
flabbergasted, walking-wallet husband – even, after being slapped by his his
new bride, a picture of poignancy (“All is over for Don Pasquale”). At one
point, in a line that mentioned horses, he actually neighed the note! Brilliant.
Baritone Lucas Meacham did an excellent job as the
instigator, Dr. Malatesta, duly savoring his machinations and achieving a rare
mid-piece ovation after an electric run of patter with Muraro in “Cheti, cheti,
immantinente.”
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| Lawrence Brownlee as Ernesto. |
Stage director Laurent Pelly polished the gags to a shine,
and even choreographed a series of small, quirky moves for the chorus’s Act 3
commentary, “Che interminabile andirivieni!” Chantal Tomas’s set is a wonder, a
rotating interior set among 1950s tenements. The players routinely ignored the
fourth wall (and the third wall) for comic effect, and created all kinds of
havoc with the skewed doors. Post-nuptials, Pasquale’s life was literally
turned upside-down, his beloved armchair hovering in the heavens as Norina
cluttered his former ceiling with mod furniture. (Oddly, the time-shift didn’t
really change much, except in matters of costume and setting.)
Duane Schuler’s precision lighting augmented the comedy
admirably. Giuseppe Finzi led an energetic reading of the score; in the overture,
the woodwinds were a particular pleasure.
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| Maurizio Muraro, Lucas Meacham (Dr. Malatesta) and Chantal Tomas's set. |
This was the last performance of 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.
