'Don Pasquale' in Linz: Lots of Fun with Grandpa on the Prowl [premium]

The Linz State Theatre's production of Gaetano Donizetti's comic opera "Don Pasquale" has captivated audiences, with the first reprise, featuring a changed cast, also receiving a standing ovation. Director Matthias Rippert's staging, while incorporating a framing narrative set in a retirement home and additional characters, was lauded for its amusement and for never detracting from Donizetti's music. Rippert's direction skillfully blended comedy with the opera's musicality, creating a performance that felt at home within the retirement setting.

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Theater in Theater with 'Don Pasquale' as a guest performance in the retirement home.

Rippert's approach, which frames "Don Pasquale" as a guest performance within the retirement home, successfully showcased the cast's comedic prowess. The soloists navigated the plot with breathtaking speed in a Commedia dell'arte style, closely aligned with the musical interpretation. Johanna Lakner's costumes added to the slapstick nature of the performance, though the specific choice for Ernesto's costume remained somewhat puzzling. Fabian Liszt's set design effectively transitioned between the retirement home's common areas and the opulent salon of a wealthy gentleman.

The production particularly highlighted the stage dominance of Norina, with Fenja Lukas delivering a standout performance as the second cast for the role. Lukas masterfully evolved from a calculating woman to one exhibiting charming shyness and ultimately transforming into a formidable shrew who manipulates Don Pasquale with great comedic effect, before returning to her role as a loving fiancée by the opera's happy ending. Her vocal performance was equally impressive, marked by bright high notes, a homogenous timbre, perfect coloratura, and a warm lyrical expression, even when portraying the more demanding aspects of the character.

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There was a lot of comedic competence to be seen in Matthias Rippert's direction, which led the solo quartet through the plot in breathtakingly fast-paced Commedia-dell'arte style, always very closely linked to the musical interpretation.

Dominik Nekel portrayed Don Pasquale without excessive melodrama, though his performance was somewhat overshadowed by his co-star. He expertly handled the rapid-fire dialogue typical of opera buffa, making the duet with Malatesta in the third act a musical highlight that required an encore. Alexander York's energetic performance as Malatesta was also a significant contribution to the opera's lively and engaging presentation.

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Fenja Lukas convinced as the second cast for Norina: from a rather soberly calculating woman at the beginning, she develops through enchantingly comical shyness (with floating tiptoe steps) to the perfect shrew, who deals with Don Pasquale in the best slapstick manner – only to return to the loving future wife of Ernesto at the happy end.