‘There’s no fool like an old fool in love’. Scottish National Opera’s autumn season stuns with their production of the italian comic opera “Don Pasquale”.
The production revitalises the long-form medium which is under increasing threat, yet as Alex Reedijk the director general of the scottish national opera insisted, opera is ‘important as it ever has been’ you just need, as he said ‘good long form storytellers’ like the SNO to provide the audience with an opera that is accessible and entertaining while still leaving food for thought. And that is exactly what Don Pasquale achieved.
While it is a mid 19th century opera, this was set in 1960s Rome, bringing into focus the universal themes and conflicts which can be found across borders and centuries. The Italian sun was brought to Edinburgh’s winter through the incredible set and lighting design, using vibrant colours and extreme angles in an excellent expressionist manner.
The performer’s extreme physicality and moments of slapstick comedy had the audience laughing out loud. Such as when Don Pasquale under inspection by his doctor but impatient for answers about his future wife shouts his questions down the stethoscope. The production was not scared of embracing the playful comedic aspect of this opera.
But it was the emotional depth alongside this comedy that really made this a five star performance. While the Ernesto’s, played by Felipe Manu, beautiful and mournful melodies expressed raw pain in direct contrast with Don Pasquale, (David Stout) staccato cynicism, it was the character of Norina, played by Stacey Alleaum who really captured the operas duality for comedy and heart.
Her solo moments varied between exhibitions of her flirtatious power and expressions of her love and genuine desire. While all the men around her flail and fail she resides at the centre with poise and grace and mind bendingly high notes to display a complexity of character unfortunately so rarely achieved in more antiquated art forms, but essential to this opera’s success.
Don Pasquale also contrasts itself through the innovative use of multimedia. The opera’s overture is delivered through the form of comic book displays setting out the plot. This complemented by momentary speech bubbles that appear for significant lines, creates a unique effect of making the performance accessible while still entertaining, crucially understanding the needs of a 21st century audience. Like the opera, a comic book uses extreme expressions in a few frames and significant speech to communicate some of the most extreme emotions like unrequited love. But just as the opera was not resolved till the lovers were together, the comic book was completely in black and white until red hearts sprung from the page, suggesting it is love that turns the black and white world into technicolour.
Image ‘Jonathan Sedgwick (Porter) and David Stout (Don Pasquale) in Don Pasquale. Scottish Opera 2024′ by Jane Barlow provided via Capital Theatres’ Press Release