Composed by Gaetano Donizetti
Stage Director: Chuck Hudson
Conductor: Richard Buckley
Sight gags, silent movies propel Don Pasquale: Cincinnati Opera’s lively new production, set in the golden age of Hollywood, lifted the silliness to a new level, and often had the audience laughing out loud…Hudson’s staging was animated from start to finish, and there were some very funny sight gags, which had the audience of 2,130 howling…this confection of an opera became a night of sheer fun. –Janelle Gelfand, Cincinnati Enquirer
If the repeated outbursts of hearty laughter from the audience at yesterday evening’s performance were any indication, the Cincinnati Opera has scored another hit with this production of Don Pasquale… the almost non-stop visual gags in the third act garden scene had the audience in stitches…There’s no question that Mr. Hudson knows his craft, and it was evident he had worked extensively with the soloists on what German-speaking folks would call Personenführung. –M. Auer, Opera Lively News
Cincinnati Opera uncorked a bit of bubbly…with stage direction by Chuck Hudson, the acting was hilarious.” -Ellyn Hutton, Music in Cincinnati
Cincinnati Opera’s Don Pasquale was a delight and, so far, the season’s best overall production…Hudson’s staging is based on his studies with Marcel Marceau and the best example of that was the staging of Com’e Gentil: it was hilarious… – Anne Arenstein, City Beat
Director Chuck Hudson has added an extra layer of fun to Cincinnati Opera’s production, which is updated to 1950s Hollywood… (Eglise Gutierrez): It’s a real comedy, and it’s a big challenge…But everything makes sense…I think people will enjoy it, because sometimes you need to laugh a lot.(Burak Bilgili): In this production, we are movie stars. In the beginning of the opera, there is a silent movie. I’m like Rudolph Valentino, and I’m supposed to have had a big career. — Janelle Gelfand, Cincinnati Enquirer
The physical production is a new one for Cincinnati Opera. “Arizona Opera has a production set in 1950s Hollywood,” Mirageas says. “I went to see it and I should have been thrown out because I was laughing so hard.” In this iteration, Don Pasquale is a silent film star who wants a young starlet to help revive his career. Director Chuck Hudson studied with the great mime Marcel Marceau and, according to Mirageas, many of Marceau’s famed characters and routines will turn up. –Anne Arenstein, Citibeat.com/Cincinnati
Cincinnati Opera Artistic Director discusses Chuck Hudson’s DON PASQUALE
Cincinnati Opera Preview of DON PASQUALE
The Hollywood Chorus
Silent Movie Overture
Starring Burak Bilgili as Don Pasquale
Created by Doug Provost and Chuck Hudson
See photos from Chuck’s original 2014 production at Arizona Opera