“Don Pasquale” Commedia Dell’Arte Opera & Dinner

The North Shore Music Festival returns with a wonderful production of Donizetti’s famed comic opera “Don Pasquale” – set in the 1950s – in Castle Gould’s Black Box Theater. First performed in 1843 by the Théâtre-Italien at the Salle Ventadour in Paris, this opera marks the high point of the commedia dell’arte  tradition. The delightful story is packed with requisite operatic elements: arranged marriages, masked identities, false contracts – and, as always, reconciliations and true love.

Guests can enjoy a rustic Italian dinner before the performance in Castle Gould’s newly renovated Great Hall, and “opera-only” tickets are available. We always welcome children 10+ with specially priced youth tickets.

Director – Alex Paul
Conductor – Anthony LaGruth
Producer – Daniel Klein

– Cast –

Don Pasquale – Jack White
Dr. Malatesta – Bernardo Medeiros
Ernesto – Scott Bradley Joiner
Norina – Jessica Fishenfeld

Purchase tickets online or call 516.304.5076.

TICKETS

6 PM Dinner & Opera
Conservancy Member – Adult: $110
Conservancy Member – Youth (10-16): $50
Non-Member – Adult:  $125
Non-Member – Youth (10-16): $55

8 PM Opera Only
Conservancy Member – Adult: $55
Conservancy Member – Youth (10-16): $25
Non-Member – Adult:  $65
Non-Member – Youth (10-16): $30

ABOUT THE CAST

Jessica Fishenfeld (Norina)
American Soprano Jessica Fishenfeld, “triumphed” (NY Observer) in her New York City Opera debut this season as Leah in the World Premiere of Stonewall, with “clean coloratura,” (Opera News) and “spunky personality” (Opera Wire). Fishenfeld recently won a Semi-Finalist Prize in the 2019 Lotte Lenya Competition, starred in the World Premiere of Love Sick at National Sawdust, debuted with On Site Opera, and was a featured soloist at Carnegie/Zankel Hall. Since her residency with Palm Beach Opera, where she sang the roles of Norina (Don Pasquale), Mabel (The Pirates of Penzance), Najade (Ariade auf Naxos), and covered Gilda (Rigoletto), she made her Carnegie/Zankel Hall debut as soloist, appeared with both the Helena Symphony and Southeastern Pennsylvania Symphony in Bernstein 100!, sang with international orchestras at St. Bart’s Music Festival and Orquesta Filarmonía de Xalapa, created the role of Kim in Big Jim & the Small-Time Investors (Gramercy Opera), sang May Fielding in the North American premiere of Il grillo del focolare (Teatro Grattacielo), and was a 2017 Career Bridges Grant Winner. She opens the 2019/20 season with a guest appearance at NYC’s Birdland Jazz Club, and returns to Helena Symphony as soprano soloist in Carmina Burana. www.jessicafishenfeld.com

Scott Bradley Joiner (Ernesto)
Praised for his “bright, arching tenor” (San Francisco Chronicle) and performances hailed as “splendid” (SF Examiner) and “flawlessly sung” (American Record Guide), Joiner made his San Francisco Opera debut as Dickon in the premiere of Gasser’s The Secret Garden.  In 2016, he “unleashed a lovely lyric sound” (Opera News) in his Carnegie Hall debut with the American Symphony Orchestra under conductor Leon Botstein in Strauss’ Friedenstag. Joiner’s 2018 engagement as soloist in Patrick Hawes’ The Great War Symphony marked his fourth Carnegie Hall appearance. In the 2017/2018 Season, Joiner performed as Edoardo in the US premiere of Zandonai’s Il Grillo del Focolare (Teatro Grattacielo), and portrayed the title roles in Bond’s Gulliver’s Travels (American Opera Projects) and Eric Salzman’s Big Jim & the Small-Time Investors (Gramercy Opera).  Joiner was heard as Tamino (Die Zauberflöte) at Odeon Theater Wien as Artist-in-Residence for the 2018 Vienna Summer Music Festival; he was soloist in the American premiere of Strictly Gershwin with the Tulsa Ballet and Symphony; and a 2018 Festival Artist at Sherrill Milnes’ Savannah Voice Festival. Past winner of the Heafner/Williams Vocal Competition and Metropolitan Opera Regional Finalist, other notable performances include Opera Colorado, Central City Opera, Knoxville Opera, St. Petersburg Opera, Asheville Lyric Opera, Teatro Magnani, Asheville Symphony and Colorado Music Festival. Joiner composed and starred in the YouTube sensation Connection Lost (The Tinder Opera) and was featured on National Public Radio in 2017.

Bernardo Medeiros (Dr. Malatesta)
Brazilian-American baritone Bernardo Medeiros is an active performer of classical music and opera in the greater Houston area. Bernardo is currently pursuing a Performance Certificate at the University of Houston (where he also received his Masters Degree) under the tutelage of Joseph Evans. During his time at the university, he has had the opportunity to perform several roles, most notably Horace Taber in The Ballad of Baby Doe, David in L’amico Fritz, Malatesta in Don Pasquale and Capulet in Romeo et Juliette. In 2017, Bernardo participated as an Apprentice Artist at Opera in the Ozarks, where he portrayed the titular role of Le Nozze di Figaro, as well as Reverend Olin Blitch in Susannah. Bernardo holds a BM in Music Education from Oklahoma State University. He is elated to make his professional debut in Long Island with the North Shore Music Festival!

Jack Anderson White (Don Pasquale)
Jack Anderson White has appeared with companies such as Houston Grand Opera, Indianapolis Opera, Des Moines Metro Opera, Opera Carolina Theater, American Opera Projects, and the Aspen Music Festival, with a wide-ranging repertoire of over fifty roles, including such favorites as Leporello (Don Giovanni), Figaro (Le nozze di Figaro), Don Magnifico (La Cenerentola), and Horace Tabor (The Ballad of Baby Doe). A regular performer with Bronx Opera, the Texas native was most recently seen as Pooh-Bah in their Spring 2019 production of The Mikado. He resides in Maplewood, New Jersey, with his wife, Melissa, and their small but mighty chihuahua, Molly.