DON PASQUALE
Various venues
Sat 1 June-Sat 13 July
Welsh National Opera bring us a contemporaneous and riotous version of Don Pasquale, set in a doner kebab van, in their latest production. Gaetano Donizetti’s Italian masterpiece has been reworked by director Daisy Evans, musical director Stephen Higgins and designer Loren Elstein to fit a slightly more Welsh theme.
The opera’s larger-than-life patriarch Don Pasquale (played by Andrew Shore) is a self-made man who came to Cardiff in the 1970s and since then has been building his kebab empire. He is then visited by his millennial nephew Ernesto (Nico Darmanin), who proceeds to conspire with vegan girlfriend Norina (Harriet Eyley), tricking Don into handing over his business. The show claims to take the audience down the streets of Cardiff while creating an intimate operatic experience, due to the small cast and onstage orchestra. This production looks to be a genuinely promising 21st century reworking of a much-loved classic, and the Welsh twist is an added bonus.
Having premiered in Newport in late May, Don Pasquale will be touring across Wales and the UK until mid-July, with dates in Swansea (Sat 1 June), Milford Haven (Thurs 6), Brecon (Sat 6 July) and Aberdare (Tue 9 July).
Tickets: £7-£19. Info: 029 2063 5000 / www.wno.org.uk
words Fern Tregoning-Liddle