I don’t think it’s a big secret that I’m a fan of furry felines so I’m probably predisposed to like Barbe & Doucet’s cat themed production of Donizetti’s Don Pasquale for the COC which opened at the Four Seasons Centre on Friday night. It starts with a projected comic book type prologue during the overture. Malatesta discovers that cat lover Pasquale is allergic to them so the old man has to ditch his actual furry friends for a series of statues that then crop up all over the Pensione Pasquale. Yes B&D have set another opera in a hotel! It’s clever because it makes us a little more sympathetic to the old man who isn’t the nicest guy as written.
operaramblings 