Don Pasquale is an opera buffa, or comic opera, in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti. The composer Giovanni Ruffini wrote the Italian libretto after Angelo Anelli's libretto for Stefano Pavesi's Ser Marcantonio (1810).

At the time of its composition, Donizetti had just been appointed music director and composer for the imperial court of Emperor Ferdinand I of Austria, and Don Pasquale was the 64th of an eventual 66 operas he composed.

The opera, in the tradition of opera buffa, harkens back to the stock characters of the commedia dell'arte. Pasquale is recognizable as the blustery Pantalone, Ernesto as the lovesick Pierrot, Malatesta as the scheming Scapino, and Norina as a wily Columbina. The false Notary echos a long line of false officials as operatic devices.

Performance history

Don Pasquale was first produced on January 3, 1843 at the Théâtre Italien in Paris.

Roles

Role	Voice type	Premiere Cast, January 3, 1843 (Conductor: - )
Don Pasquale, an elderly bachelor	basso buffo	Luigi Lablache
Dr Malatesta, his physician	lyric baritone	Antonio Tamburini
Ernesto, Pasquale's nephew	tenore leggero	Giovanni Mario
Norina, a youthful widow, Ernesto's beloved	soubrette	Giulia Grisi
A notary, Malatesta's cousin Carlino	bass	Federico Lablache
Servants

Synopsis

Place: Rome

Ernesto is in love with Norina and has refused to marry a "more suitable" woman chosen for him by his uncle Don Pasquale. The old man accordingly plans to wed and produce his own heirs. His physician, Dr. Malatesta, suggests his sister, Sofronia, a convent girl, as the bride. The Don accepts, and Norina disguises herself as Sofronia and signs a marriage contract before a sup­posed notary. Norina now behaves like a shrew, making life so miserable for the old man that he is relieved when he discovers that he has been duped. He repudiates his desire for marriage and consents to the union of his nephew with Norina.

Act 1

Introduction between Don Pasquale and the doctor. (Romance of Malatesta: “Oh, like an angel of beauty”; Cavatina, Pasquale: “Oh, how I feel the glow of fire in my heart”; Duet between Ernesto and Pasquale: “How? You will? Marry me.”) Change of scene: Norina’s cavatina: “Ah, beneath all eyes”; Duet between Norina and the doctor: “See, I am ready with love to surround him.”

Act 2

Ernesto alone; then Pasquale, Norina, doctor. (Terzett: “Take courage”; Finale: “On one side,” etc.)

Act 3

Chorus: “Bring the jewels at once”; Duet between Pasquale and Norina: “Dear wife, may I ask”; Duet between Pasquale and the doctor: “Softly in the dark.” Change of scene: Ernesto’s serenade: “As Luna laughs in the fragrant night”; Duet between Ernesto and Norina “Do I read in your looks ?“ Finale: “Heaven, what do you say? This is Norina.”

Selected recordings

1960 Fernando Corena, Graziella Sciutti,Angelo Mercuriali ,Decca 1978 Donald Gramm,Alan Titus, Beverly Sills, Alfredo Kraus, Sarah Caldwell (Conductor),EMI

External links

• Libretto (Italian)
• Discography from Stanford website

References

Plot taken from The Opera Goer's Complete Guide by Leo Melitz, 1921 version.