Donizetti Birth Anniversary
Tuesday, November 29
Stingray Classica celebrates the music of the Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti (1797-1848) on the occasion of the 225th birth anniversary of his birth. On November 29, Stingray Classica presents two major works by the prolific opera composer. At 14:00 CET, enjoy Donizetti’s comic opera ‘Don Pasquale’ (1842), telling the story of the old, wealthy bachelor Don Pasquale who plans to marry in order to disinherit his nephew Ernesto, who is in love with the impoverished widow Norina. At 21:00 CET, Stingray Classica presents an irresistible, hilarious production of ‘La fille du regiment’ (1840), set in the picturesque mountain landscape of Tyrol during the First World War. Donizetti’s charming score is a deft combination of jaunty military tunes, brisk comic numbers, and sparkling arias.
Donizetti - Don Pasquale
Tuesday, November 29 | 14:00
Frédéric Chaslin leads the Orchestre Symphonique Région Centre-Val de Loire/Tours and the Choir of Opéra de Tours in a performance of Gaetano Donizetti’s comic opera Don Pasquale (1842). Featuring a cast of the most famous singers of the day, Don Pasquale premiered at the Parisian Salle Ventadour in 1843. It was an immediate success, being performed in the great opera houses of Europe within a year after its premiere. The work’s libretto is largely written by Giovanni Ruffini, as well as by the composer himself. It tells the hilarious story of the old, wealthy bachelor Don Pasquale, who is outraged when hearing his nephew Ernesto wishes to marry the impoverished widow Norina. Consequently, Pasquale decides to disinherit his nephew by marrying himself. His friend Malatesta and Norina, however, make up a plan to thwart the old bachelor, arranging a mock marriage. Among the soloists are Laurent Naouri (Don Pasquale), Florian Sempey (Malatesta), Sébastien Droy (Ernesto), Anne-Catherine Gillet (Norina), and François Bazola (notary). This performance was recorded at Opéra de Tours, in 2021.
Donizetti - La fille du régiment
Tuesday, November 29 | 21:00
Enrique Mazzola conducts the orchestra and chorus of the New York Metropolitan Opera in a performance of Donizetti's (1797–1848) La fille du régiment. Among the soloists are Pretty Yende, Javier Camarena, Paul Corona (Hortensius), Stephanie Blythe (The Marquise), Kathleen Turner (The Duchess) and Yohan Belmin (Notary). Recorded in the Metropolitan Opera, New York on March 2, 2019. The opera is set in the Tyrol, a picturesque mountain landscape. The Met’s production places the action during the First World War. Donizetti’s score is a deft combination of jaunty military tunes (including some actual French regimental songs from the composer’s era), brisk comic numbers, enormously graceful ensembles and vocal solos, and sparkling arias. Donizetti composed about 75 operas, plus orchestral and chamber music, in a career abbreviated by mental illness and premature death. Apart from the ever-popular Lucia di Lammermoor and the comic gems L’Elisir d’Amore and Don Pasquale, most of his works disappeared from public view after his death.