DON PASQUALE | Gaetano Donizetti

Director Paweł Szkotak has no doubts: the excellent music and well-written libretto of this opera give the producers and the performing artists the opportunity to create a dynamic and entertaining staging. This will also be the premiere of "Don Pasquale" by Gaetano Donizetti, which will inaugurate the 30th Bydgoszcz Opera Festival on April 20th, 2024. 

"Don Pasquale" on the Opera Nova stage will have a cinematic flair - it is no accident that the action of the work was moved to New York at the turn of the 1940s and 1950s, and the title character has many features in common with the iconic figure of the Italian mafioso in American cinematography. 

- "Don Pasquale" is about love and power. The main axis of the conflict is the constant clash of what is masculine and what is feminine. If this opera were given a different title, it might be "The Fall of the Patriarch". In our culture, the character of mafioso Don Corleone, first created in the novel by Mario Puzo and later played by Marlon Brando in the film "The Godfather", has become a popular icon of male power. We will refer to this character to some extent and play with him to some extent - explains Paweł Szkotak, who directs the show. 

A dark office in which Don Pasquale deals with his "interests", accompanied by two bodyguards, or a shooting on one of the New York streets, which is the site of an unsuccessful assassination attempt on the main character - there will be allusions to the legendary "Godfather" in the opera staging, also in the costumes and set design. 

The entire staging is carried out on a revolving stage, which - as explained by the author of the set design, Mariusz Napierała - favors the cinematic narrative of the performance, consisting of a smooth transition of the action between three (and the fourth in the finale) different stage spaces, which will be: Don Pasquale's house (in which, over time, the darkness will be illuminated by... pink!), a New York street in a noir atmosphere (a true characteristic of American gangster cinematography) and Norina's modest boudoir (which will transform into an idyllic garden in the second part of the show). 

A few words about the main characters:

•  Don Pasquale from Bydgoszcz has a lot in common with the image of Vito Corleone, but not only that. In Opera Nova's production, he is a man who trained boxing in his youth. Moreover, he is not an old bachelor, as written in the libretto, but a widower. Don Pasquale, under the influence of Malatesta's intrigue and Norina's charm, decides to marry again, which ultimately ends in failure, but... - However, it would be a pity if we denied the main character the love, to which people of all ages are entitled. Especially since there is a certain person by Don Pasquale's side, who stays with him, loves him, cares for him, although he has not noticed her eyes full of affection until now - announces Paweł Szkotak. 
• Norina - a young widow (it remains a mystery under what circumstances her husband died). A character that shows different faces of femininity. This is a woman who will cause a revolution in Don Pasquale's life, and her female energy will turn out to be a destructive element. She is in love with Ernesto, towards whom she feels remorse. 
• Ernesto - in our Bydgoszcz production, is the nephew of Don Pasquale. A young, handsome man, who lives a luxurious lifestyle thanks to his uncle's money, and has a romantic idea of love.
• Malatesta - under the guise of wanting to help Ernesto, he involves Norina and Don Pasquale in a love intrigue to deceive him. Doctor Malatesta is a diabolically cunning character - he manipulates the three main characters, pretending to act selflessly. In fact, his motive is not friendship, but achieving his own goals. Which one? You will see this for yourself by coming to see our show.
   

"Don Pasquale" - one of the best and the last of Gaetano Donizetti's opera buffa, composed to a libretto by Giovanni Ruffini. The world premiere took place on January 3, 1843 at the Théâtre Italien in Paris, and the same year the work was successfully performed on the stages of Brussels, Vienna, London, Milan... In June 1844, the Polish premiere took place at the Warsaw Opera. The work, which undoubtedly made a career on the most important stages in the world, was not performed very often in Poland. It is worth mentioning here, that the world-famous, outstanding Polish opera singer Mariusz Kwiecień (currently a professor of the Krakow Academy of Music, who, during the XXX BFO at Opera Nova, will conduct a Vocal MasterClass!) performed the role of Malatesta with great success at the New York Metropolitan Opera. 

Opera Nova's premiere of "Don Pasquale" over three decades at the BFO will be the second comic opera by Gaetano Donizetti produced in Bydgoszcz, because fifteen years ago we inaugurated the Festival with L'elisir d'amore, which is still successfully performed on our stage. It is not the first time that Paweł Szkotak (originally from Bydgoszcz) directs for Opera Nova, an outstanding creator of nearly 70 theater and opera performances in his account, including those produced for us - and which are still in our repertoire