Don Pasquale, Metropolitan Opera HD Live, Nov 13 2010

According to the images projected prior to the beginning of the performance, in 40 years James Levine has conducted nearly 2500 performances of 86 different operas at the Met, but this is his first Don Pasquale. And it is a winner. The sprightly, sparkling overture was just a prelude of things to come, and earned Levine and the orchestra sustained, well-deserved applause, well more than a “Jimmy, we’re glad you’re back after a long absence.” When the curtain went up, we saw Don Pasquale’s cavernous (after all, this is the Met stage) but dilapidated abode, with a sagging bed in the middle, stairs ascending behind the bed, columns and pillars and an entrance way off to the right, the whole festooned with dirty laundry. John Del Carlo sang the title role to perfection; I now understand why one of my companions this morning is a big John Del Carlo fan. Mariusz Kwiecien was an excellent Dr. Malatesta. Ernesto was sung by Matthew Polenzani, who earned one of my few minor reservations about the performance: I heard a bit of a glare in his upper register that didn’t particularly appeal to me. On balance, though, he fit well with the rest of the cast.

We don’t hear a female voice until the second scene, when we are introduced to Norina, reading a book on the balcony of her rooftop apartment overlooking a Tuscan city, and introducing herself to the audience in an aria that functions exactly as does “Una voce poca fa.” Anna Netrebko absolutely shone in this role. When I first saw her following the birth of her child, her voice sounded a shade darker, and she had lost some of her endearing girlish impishness. Here she sang gorgeously, and acted the part of the young woman to the hilt, even doing a somersault into her chaise longue at the end of the scene, and jumping on Don Pasquale’s bed as part of her antics following the signing of the marriage contract. Here the antics went just a bit too far: her kicking him in the behind wasn’t necessary.

Following intermission, we are again in Don Pasquale’s house, but now with dozens of newly-hired (but not yet uniformly attired) servants, and many large packing crates, presumably containing new furniture, and labeled with proper Italian words. The scene ended with an encore of the wonderful Pasquale-Malatesta patter song duet, in front of the curtain, which has been a feature of every other Don Pasquale that I have seen. I finally understood it as (partial) cover for the scene change, which is complicated enough that the curtain remains down for several minutes following the encore. Nevertheless, it is delightful to hear that music again.

The final scene takes place in Don Pasquale’s garden, with a courtyard to the right and the two-story house to the left, with a full-width balcony leading to stairs descending to the garden.

Great music, superb singing, excellent playing, wonderful sets, spirited acting—one could hardly ask for anything more. Clearly an alpha.