Don Pasquale

Film

Don Pasquale

19792h 13mMusicComedy
United States
Director
Kirk Browning
Year
1979

This John Dexter production, designed by Desmond Heeley, was a parting gift to the great American soprano Beverly Sills, who bid farewell to the Met as Norina, the smart young widow at the center of Donizetti’s comedy. The sensational Alfredo Kraus sings her beloved Ernesto. Håkan Hagegård, in his Met debut role and season, is Dr. Malatesta, the man who helps the young couple trick the crusty old bachelor of the title (Gabriel Bacquier at his comical best) into a fake marriage. This being a Donizetti comedy, it all turns out perfectly well at the end—and getting there is pure operatic fun.

Top cast

Directed by

Kirk Browning, John Dexter

Written by

Giovanni Ruffini, Gaetano Donizetti

Produced by

Christopher Sarson