The Canadian Opera Company ushers in spring with a feel-good comedy that hasn’t been seen on the COC stage in 30 years: Don Pasquale by Gaetano Donizetti. This colourful adaptation from acclaimed French-Canadian creative duo Barbe & Doucet transposes the opera’s storyline to 1960s Rome, where the eccentric owner of a crumbling hotel is wreaking hilarious havoc on his nephew’s love life, together with a rag-tag group of staff that includes a chain-smoking chambermaid, a greasy cook and a positively prehistoric porter.

Don Pasquale runs for seven performances on April 26, May 2, 4, 8, 10, 12, and 18, 2024, at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, with an additional one-night-only performance starring current and graduate artists of the COC’s Ensemble Studio on May 14, 2024.

When curmudgeonly Don Pasquale learns his already smitten nephew won’t marry for money, he decides to get hitched himself so Ernesto can’t inherit a dime. Unbeknownst to Pasquale, however, is that his bride-to-be is none other than his nephew's beloved—and that some friendly scheming is underway to not-so-subtly convince him to do the right thing.

Following earlier careers in dance, television, and theatre, stage director Renaud Doucet and set and costume designer André Barbe joined forces in 2000, creating over 40 new opera productions that have been recognized for their creativity and sense of spectacle.

In this production, an Italian pensione serves as the backdrop to the story with scenes changes taking place with the innovative use of a clothesline incorporated into the set. Bright colours and cartoonish angles abound, as well as a bevy of faux felines in an eye-catching neon green—because in this staging, helmed by Associate Director Kathleen Stakenas, the aging title bachelor has a deep affinity for cats…as well as an unfortunate allergy to them. Lighting from Guy Simard perfectly spotlights the Technicolor playground.

As a composer, Donizetti is known for sparkling scores that are delightful to the ear and incredibly demanding to perform. For Don Pasquale, the COC has assembled a brilliant cast that is more than capable of delivering vocal fireworks, led by Canadian conductor Jacques Lacombe.

In a COC debut, Misha Kiria brings his “beautiful baritone voice” (Giornale della Musica) and “charismatic” (Financial Times) acting prowess to the title role of the reclusive uncle. He’s joined by Juno Award-winning and Grammy-nominated baritone Joshua Hopkins as the clever Dr. Malatesta; Hopkins was last seen on the COC stage in 2017 as Papageno in The Magic Flute. Canadian soprano and Ensemble Studio graduate Simone Osborne, hailed by the Los Angeles Times as “a joy to hear,” returns to Toronto as the fiery Norina opposite Santiago Ballerini as Ernesto, following the Argentinian tenor’s “outstanding” performance in the COC’s 2020 production of The Barber of Seville. And Canadian bass-baritone and Ensemble Studio graduate Alex Halliday joins the robust cast in the role of the Notary.

For the Ensemble Studio performance of the opera, Alex Halliday steps into the role of Don Pasquale alongside first-year tenor Wesley Harrison as Ernesto. Both Halliday and Harrison were featured in the COC’s 23/24 season productions of Fidelio and The Cunning Little Vixen. Final-year soprano Ariane Cossette takes on the role of Ernesto’s beloved Norina, after an earlier season appearance in The Cunning Little Vixen. First-year baritone Korin Thomas-Smith performs as Dr. Malatesta, following his mainstage debut this past fall in La Bohème, and baritone and Ensemble Studio graduate Doug MacNaughton completes the cast on May 14 as the Notary.

Don Pasquale is sung in Italian and presented by the COC with English SURTITLES™.

Don Pasquale is a production from Scottish Opera.

Cast for performances on April 26, May 2, 8, 10, 12, and 18:

Don Pasquale - Misha Kiria

Dr. Malatesta - Joshua Hopkins

Norina - Simone Osborne

Ernesto - Santiago Ballerini

Notary - Alex Halliday

Cast for Ensemble Studio Performance on May 14:

Don Pasquale - Alex Halliday

Dr. Malatesta - Korin Thomas-Smith

Norina - Ariane Cossette

Ernesto - Wesley Harrison

Notary - Doug MacNoughton

Creative Team Information:

Conductor - Jacques Lacombe

Stage Direction, Dramaturgy, Set & Costume Design - Barbe & Doucet

Associate Director - Kathleen Stakenas

Assistant Director - Marilyn Gronsdal

Lighting Designer - Guy Simard

Price Family Chorus Master - Sandra Horst

Stage Manager - Lesley Abarquez

With the COC Orchestra and COC Chorus

Ticket Information:

Don Pasquale runs for seven performances on April 26, May 2, 4, 8, 10, 12, and 18, 2024, at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, with an additional one-night-only performance featuring current and graduate artists of the COC’s Ensemble Studio on May 14, 2024.

Single tickets for Don Pasquale range from $35 – $250 for adults, with Grand Ring seats available at $290 and $350, and $22 tickets available for guests between the ages of 16 and 29 through the COC’s Opera Under 30 program.

Single tickets for the Ensemble Studio Performance of Don Pasquale are priced from $35-$75 for adults, including Grand Ring seating.

Tickets can be purchased online at coc.ca or by calling the Four Seasons Centre Box Office at 416-363-8231. For more information on booking student groups, standing room, and rush tickets, as well as other specially priced tickets available to young people under the age of 15, please visit www.coc.ca.

Photo: Aldo di Toro as Ernesto in Don Pasquale at Scottish Opera. © 2014 KK Dundas.