Irina Brook’s inspired and colourfully updated Don Pasquale has enjoyed annual revivals since its initiation in April 2015 with a fair selection of significant newcomers, often augmented - as on this occasion - by familiar faces in the cast.

The scheduled Pasquale and Malatesta of this run saw changes, bringing Nicola Alaimo to the title role for the first time in Vienna. He had, incidentally been scheduled to do Dr. Malatesta at Salzburg’s planned - but COVID-thwarted - production this year. In keeping with his recent Dulcamara (L’elisir d’amore) here, Alaimo graces his characters with a rare scale in appropriately generous physique, stage craft, and vocal facility. This Don is a joy throughout, with a captivating artless skill which sets the standard for the remaining cast. His nimble facility on the boards matches that of his pitter-patter tongue and his suave ease with costumes and props - including a rather ghastly toupee which appears to have a life of its own!

Adam Plachetka appeared as Malatesta in this production’s first revival (2016), and has further ripened in the interim years, both in tonal dimension and in stage nonchalance, to well-match a Pasquale of Alaimo’s scale. No mean achievement. 

Dmitiri Korchak undertook Ernesto most recently in last season’s run - here, oddly reminiscent of the mature Alfredo Kraus with a full but rather dry timbre, and a slight beat in some regions hinting at undesired tension - but yet with the ability to glide seamlessly through dynamics without the hint of a break in register mix. That, coupled with an exceptionally fine sense of phrasing and dapper stage demeanour, again assured an appealing romantic lead. 

Slávka Zámečniková made an interesting addition to the Norina line-ups in this production, boasting immediate vocal and stage presence. Possibly a hint apprehensive initially, her showcase aria failed to quite sparkle with ideal polish and control, but as the evening progressed the young Slovak soprano’s voice settled to produce some effervescent scale work and a warmer malleable tone. Her sense of style and a delightful mix of kittenish charm (laced with an appropriate touch of acidity) brought a deserved  welcome at the curtain, in a debut to be proud of.

Opera Studio member, Stefan Astakhov presented a well-turned cameo as the Notary, while the two significant and wacky additions in Brook’s setting saw Eduard Wesener’s delectable Butler and Waltraud Barton’s long-enduring Maid who - albeit - scores a bulls-eye as the Don’s new catch in this happy-end version.

Marco Armiliato boasts an extraordinary line-up of repertoire and successes in the house - though with only two previous performances of Don Pasquale back in the 2016 revival. This particular evening appeared a touch sluggish in energy - while nevertheless never falling below par. 

Nearing the third month of a full season at the Vienna State Opera in the COVID-19 debacle - and with further increasing restrictions pending - the phenomenal achievement (as other leading international houses remain darkened) of managing the task of juggling and producing an on-going selection of opera, ballet, and recitals to Vienna’s familiar high standards amounts to something of an historic achievement - and it would be churlish to bemoan an atmosphere or dynamism that perhaps appears tainted while all else in life no longer parallels the “norm”.