Don Pasquale 

by 

Gaetano Donizetti 

• Norman Shankle (Tenor)
• Simone Alaimo (Baritone)
• Patrizia Ciofi (Soprano)
• Marzio Giossi (Baritone) 

Evelino Pidò, conductor

Suisse Romande Orchestra,  Geneva Grand Theatre Chorus

Four very talented singers charm and beguile us with excellent singing and acting. Don Pasquale offers challenges to the bass assigned to the role very similar to those presented by Don Alfonso in Cosí fan tutte . They are essentially buffo roles, but there’s an element of meanness inherit in their characters. Pasquale opposes his nephew’s love affair with an impoverished widow, Norina, and threatens to disinherit Ernesto. Pasquale is both the buffo and the villain of the piece; the trick is to make him likable to an audience. Bass Simone Alaimo not only makes Pasquale likable, but sympathetic as well. There is a surprise happy ending for Pasquale as part of the clever curtain call. 

Patrizia Ciofi is a great comedic actress with lots of coloratura and dazzling high notes; Marzio Giossi creates an interesting and complex Malatesta. American tenor Norman Shankle is an ingratiating and charming Ernesto, with a voice reminiscent of the youthful Carreras. 

BelAir Classiques offers subtitles in French, English, German, and Spanish

Sound options are PCM Stereo, Dolby Digital 5.1, DTS 5.1. 

The disc is formatted NTSC (Region Free)

The picture is 16/9 widescreen. 

It was recorded in high definition.