Opera Series to present "Don Pasquale"
Raging youth thumbs its nose at mid-life crisis in the deliciously sexy farce "Don Pasquale" at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 29-31 and 3 p.m. Nov. 1, in WSU's Opera Series performance at Miller Concert Hall.

"Don Pasquale" premiered in Paris in 1843, and is based on the age-old commedia delíarte plot of an elderly man marrying a young girl and living to regret it.

Opera director Marie Allyn King updates the action from Rome in 1840s to New York City's Little Italy in 1959. The generational conflict between old-world Pasquale and his hip young Italian-American nephew is heightened, adding to the comedy. In this version, family friend and physician Dr. Malatesta stages the plot with all the zest of a Spielberg wannabe, and Norina is a feisty actress who enlists help from her theatrical friends to carry out the plan to fool Pasquale.

When his stubborn nephew Ernesto refuses to marry the girl he's picked out for him, Pasquale decides to tie the knot himself. But the aging bachelor is no match for Ernesto's girlfriend, foxy Norina. Posing as an innocent convent girl, she dupes Pasquale into a fake marriage, then makes his life a living hell. Pasquale's torment is our delight in this hilarious operatic comedy.

The opera will be sung in Italian with English subtitles.

n the title role, WSU's Opera Series welcomes guest artist John Stephens. The bass-baritone has sung leading roles with numerous prominent opera companies, including Houston Grand Opera, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Washington Opera, and Kansas City Lyric. Stephens also has a busy concert career, and has recorded for Columbia Masterwork, Newport Classics and the Musical Heritage Society. He is on the faculty of the University of Kansas.

WSU master's candidates and scholarship winners Andrew Whitfield and Chet Carpenter share the role of the wily Dr. Malatesta. Whitfield is this year's recipient of the Samuel Ramey Fellowship. Carpenter holds the George Gibson Scholarship.

The role of Ernesto is portrayed by tenors J.C. Fisher and Arthur Marks. Marks is a performer well-known to audiences from his many appearances with Music Theatre of Wichita. He is currently an adjunct professor of voice at WSU. Fisher is the recipient of the Sarah Shirkey Gietzen Scholarship.

Norina is played by master’s candidate Karla Hughes and junior Kerry Moss. Hughes is winner of the Feiertag Scholarship for Vocal Performance Majors.

Harry Davidson, WSU's new director of orchestras and associate conductor for the Wichita Symphony Orchestra, will conduct. Musical preparation is by Robert Glasmann, associate professor. The set for "Don Pasquale" is the first to be designed especially for the WSU Opera Series. Sets are by Ronald Naversen, costumes by Charla Sanderson, and lighting by David Neville. Dan Williams is production manager, and Ray Clithero is technical director.