Don Pasquale

National Opera and Ballet of Bulgaria, Sofia, Bulgaria

Scene 2 from the opera "Don Pasquale", photo 2

Scene 3 from the opera "Don Pasquale", photo 3

Scene 4 from the opera "Don Pasquale", photo 4

Scene 5 from the opera "Don Pasquale", photo 5

Scene 6 from the opera "Don Pasquale", photo 6

Scene 7 from the opera "Don Pasquale", photo 7

All photos (7)

Sunday 21 March 2021

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Important Info

Type: Opera

City: Sofia, Bulgaria

Starts at: 19:00

Overview

In autumn 1842 Jules Janin, the newly appointed Director of Théâtre-Italien in Paris ordered an opera to Donizetti.

At the same time, in September Michele Accursi, an approached to Donizetti, attracted Giovanni Ruffini, who was living in Paris, to write the libretto for the composer. Donizetti wanted to use the story from the opera “Ser Marcantonio” by Stefano Pavesi, based on the libretto by Angelo Anelli, but he needed a person to remake the text, to shorten it, to add new nuances. Ruffini’s work didn’t go easy. He was forced to work exceptionally quickly and had almost no freedom. Each thing was absolutely changed by Donizetti. This made Ruffini give up his right and wish his name not to be connected with the libretto.

Regardless of the fact that he got over a serious illness, the composer wrote the music of “Don Pasquale” for only eight days. The opera is among the highest models of the buffo genre from the 19^th century and an undoubted masterpiece of the art of belcanto. Donizetti’s remarkable talent created lively musical patterns, together with the beautiful melodies and the big and complex ensemble scenes.

The opera was performed for the first time on 3 January 1843 at Théâtre-Italien in Paris, and the premiere in Bulgaria was in 1932 with the conductor Assen Naydenov and the stage director Hristo Popov.

History

Premiere of this production: 03 January 1843, Théâtre-Italien, Paris

Don Pasquale is an opera buffa, or comic opera, in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti with an Italian libretto completed largely by Giovanni Ruffini as well as the composer. It was based on a libretto by Angelo Anelli for Stefano Pavesi's opera Ser Marcantonio written in 1810 but, on the published libretto, the author appears as "M.A.". The opera was first performed on 3 January 1843 by the Théâtre-Italien at the Salle Ventadour in Paris with great success and it is generally regarded as being the high point of the 19th century opera buffa tradition and, in fact, marking its ending.

Venue Info

National Opera and Ballet of Bulgaria - Sofia
bul. Kniaz Aleksandar Dondukov 30

The National Opera and Ballet is a national cultural institution in Bulgaria that covers opera and ballet. It is based in an imposing building in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. The first opera company in Bulgaria was founded in 1890 as part of the Capital Opera and Drama Company. The two sections split in 1891 to form the Salza i Smyah theatrical company and the Capital Bulgarian Opera. It was, however, disbanded the next year due to lack of government funding and financial difficulties.

The Bulgarian Opera Society was established in 1908 and staged its first test performance. The first full opera was performed in 1909 — Pagliacci by Leoncavallo. The first Bulgarian opera works were also presented in the period, including Siromahkinya by Emanuil Manolov, Kamen i Tsena by Ivan Ivanov and Václav Kaucký, Borislav by Georgi Atanasov and Tahir Begovitsa by Dimitar Hadzhigeorgiev.

As the company evolved under the ensemble system and style, the permanent troupe of soloists, choir, orchestra, ballet, technical and production teams produced up to 10 opera and ballet premieres a year, in addition to concert programs. Gradually, the basic repertory of world opera classics was established at the same time as the theatre began to attract Bulgarian composers who created new national works. 20th Century performers such as Nicolai Ghiaurov, Nicola Ghiuselev, and Ghena Dimitrova began their careers within the structure of the National Opera, as did later singers such as Irena Petkova and Kiril Manolov.

The institution became a national one in 1922 and changed its name to National Opera. A ballet company was established and gave its first performance in 1928. The opera ceased its activity for a while after the 1944 bombing of Sofia, but was restored shortly afterward with a significant increase of government funding.

The National Opera and Ballet's building was designed in 1921 and built for the most part between 1947 and its opening in 1953.

In 2000, the company co-organized the Boris Christoff Twelfth International Competition for Young Opera Singers with the idea of attracting a younger audience and supporting young and upcoming singers.

The repertoire historically tended to favour the Italian and French repertoire with little Wagnerian tradition, although since 2010, the artistic director of the opera company Plamen Kartaloff began a Ring Cycle with entirely Bulgarian casts. Following the entry of Parsifal and Tristan und Isolde into the repertoire, the complete cycle was performed both in Moscow and Sofia during 2018.