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Kristina Mkhitaryan – Norina
Petr Nekoranec – Ernesto
Vincenzo Taormina – Malatesta
Nicola Alaimo – Don Pasquale
PKF – Prague Philharmonia
Marco Armiliato – conductor
Did you enjoy the concert performance of Rossini's opera fairy tale Cenerentola in December 2023? We have prepared a similar project for you! This time it will be Gaetano Donizetti's popular opera Don Pasquale. It goes without saying that we will bring a stellar cast this time as well! Here is what you can look forward to:
Don Pasquale is an utter farce with sparkling music and a number of humorous scenes guaranteed to bring tears to your eyes – tears of laughter, of course! The rich old Don Pasquale wants to prevent the marriage of his nephew Ernesto with the young and poor widow Norina. He threatens Ernesto with disinheriting him, which is unfortunate for Ernesto because he cannot think of marriage without an inheritance. In addition, Don Pasquale decides to marry himself and calls Dr. Malatesta for help. But this decision will cost him dearly! Dr. Malatesta concocts a great hoax, and Don Pasquale is finally happy to get rid of his young "wife", in reality Norina.
The sly Norina, who will give Don Pasqualo such a hard time, will be the phenomenal Armenian soprano Kristina Mkhitaryan, whose most recent achievements include the role of Liù in Puccini's Turandot at the Vienna State Opera alongside Jonas Kaufmann as Kalaf. Norina will ridicule the pompous Don Pasquale, who will be none other than the Italian baritone Nicola Alaimo, who made an irresistible comic duo with the Italian baritone Vincenzo Taormina in "our" Cinderella. Vincenzo will now assume the role of the sly doctor Malatesta, who will be assisted by the great tenor of Petr Nekoranec in the role of Ernesto. In the interest of love, the two will scheme against Don Pasquale.
But that's not the end of the star cast! The charismatic Italian conductor Marco Armiliato, in the last twenty years one of the most distinguished and the busiest opera conductors, will guide us through this wonderful opera with his unerring baton. Do you remember his first performance in Prague? On 22nd December 1996, he accompanied the famous Luciano Pavarotti; thirteen thousand people came to the hockey hall at Výstaviště at that time. Since then, Marco Armiliato has returned to Prague several times with great joy!
The concert is held under the auspices of the ambassadors of Italy and Armenia.