Grand young talent, former members of the San Francisco Merola Opera
Program, showed up over the weekend in Walnut Creek and took over the
new Festival Opera production of Donizetti's "Don Pasquale."

Soprano and tenor usually get the headlines, but the most impressive
work Saturday night came from the bass-baritone in the title role, Bojan
Knezevic.  The Belgrade native, who joined the Merola program 10 years ago,
is young enough to be the grandson of the character he sang, and many years
younger than singers in his voice category usually are when hitting their
stride, but Knezevic had no problem on either account.

This was a vocally and dramatically mature, self-confident performance,
with clear diction, effortless musicality - a solid, impressive
performance.  Donizetti requires a special musical ability and a balanced
portrayal between comedy and pathos.  Almost always, Don Pasquale appears
as a clown, played way too broadly and therefore implausibly.  Knezevic
and stage director Harvey Berman did good work to avoid that trap, which
weakens the work.

Berman did especially well in honoring the text when Norina, a very early
women's advocate, finally slaps Pasquale to keep him in line.  The director
made certain that Kristin Clayton stop, register her own surprise at what
happened, reflect that shock of the moment so clearly portrayed both in
the music and the text - and so often just played for laughs.  (Clayton,
incidentally, is Mrs. Knezevic off-stage.)

Clayton, whose powerful soprano has some fascinating colors and a dramatic
dark tone, had a rocky start vocally (although always looking great in
Barbara Ann Gherzi's opulent costumes), but kept building the performance,
and had an excellent second act.

David Miller, singing Ernesto, had no such luck.  Festival Opera's
fine discovery in previous productions, young, handsome and possessing a
lyric tenor with a fine edge, Miller had a bad night.  His attacks were
uncertain, he kept running into problems with intonations, and the high
notes just were not there.  Anyone remembering his Werther in Walnut Creek
will realize (or, at least, hope) that this case of opening-night nerves
lasting all evening was just a hiccup in an otherwise very promising
career.  Armando Gama, a 1997 Merola participant, sang a smooth and
effective Malatesta.

In the absence of Michael Morgan, the company's music director (and
now artistic director as well, succeeding Olivia Stapp), direction of
the orchestra fell to Francesco Millioto (from Canada, now active in
Chicago) and a fall it was.  Switching from manic to lethargic, this
was a definition of inconsistency in the pit.  It is to the great credit
of the orchestra musicians that they coped as well as they did.  There
was fine individual work as well, most notably William Harvey's trumpet
obbligato in the first act.  Concertmaster Barbara Riccardi and principal
flutist Michelle Caimotto excelled as well.

How do you produce opera on a postage-stamp-sized stage and, most likely,
on a budget next to nothing? If the set designer is Peter Crompton, a
relative newcomer, the answer to that difficult question is: really,
really well.  Crompton came up with a "southern Italian" theme of a
tropical hothouse and he changed scenes with minimal pauses in a devilishly
clever way - chorus and stagehands dressed as servants pushed here, pulled
there, switched some ottomans and, presto!  the opera continued.

I don't know if it was the director or the lighting designer who decided
to play with lights distractingly, brightening and darkening the scene to
underscore the mood.  What happens, of course, is that you wonder what's
wrong with the lights, instead of getting into the mood someone is trying
to shove you into.  Not a good idea.

Janos Gereben/SF
[log in to unmask]