Something about Don Pasquale

It is claimed that this exquisite Bel Canto opera was written in only 11 days. That could be true but one should consider the use of old, already-written material, something that was frequent at the time. Furthermore, the eleven days were not from a blank sheet to a complete opera, but more of an outline with all the leads and scenes in place. 

Still, the extremely high working speed of the composer put significant strain on the relations between him and the people around him. In fact, the librettist Ruffini didn’t want to be associated with the opera. And that is why you sometimes see other names on the title page. Read more about that here.

The story was taken from Ser Marcantonio, an opera by Stefano Pavesi. The story is a simple and straightforward comedy with classical characters. The protagonist is modeled on the Comedia dell’Arte character Pantalone, a rich and greedy old fool often chasing after young women but who always remains cheated in the end (Compare Bartolo in The Barber of Seville). 

A good story could be the basis for numerous titles both with music and without. Remember that music didn’t get around like today. A title was played locally and nobody really cared about where it came from, as long as it was entertaining. And Donizetti and Pavesi weren’t the only ones to use the text and outline of this particular story for their purposes.

In 1843, Donizetti was as well-established as anyone could ever dream of. He had written well over 60 operas of which some had become huge successes… Lucia di Lammermoor, La fille du régiment, and of course the outstanding L’elisir d’amore (The elixir of love). Don Pasquale would become his last really big success.

His last years were overshadowed by crippling poor health. The Maestro died on April 8, 1848.