Don Pasquale: Singers' Advice on Success

On October 6, I went to listen to Donizetti's Don Pasquale at the Katherine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center, performed by the Salt Marsh Opera. I was offered to come by Jay Wilson, the French horn player in the opera's orchestra and the conductor of the Waterford Community Band.

Normally, I am not interested in operas, particularly Italian operas, because the resonating voices do not settle well in my unadapted ears. Don Pasquale was the first opera I truly enjoyed listening to, for it is a comedy, and the singers performed their parts so well that I also enjoyed watching it.

Megan Pachecano, who stars as Norina, shared a few words on how she became to be such a creative actress and a native-sounding Italian singer. “I studied Italian in college and took a diction class on how to sing in Italian for two years, and I had an Italian coach as well. During a summer, I studied in Italy.” In order for actors to be well-prepared to audition for Italian operas, they must sound native to the country.

In Don Pasquale, when Pachecano, as Norina, practiced her “shy” expressions for when she will meet Don Pasquale, she tried multiple extreme expressions that gave the audience a few laughs. “You have to just go for it and be ugly,” she explained. She loved her part in the opera.

Luke Scott, who stars as Dr. Malatesta, explained what is necessary to have a voice like one of theirs. “In college, you have to learn the language like a major, by studying drama, voice, language, and history. My first experience with the language was with a vocal coach, who gave me the repertoire to learn how Italians would say certain words.” If you are interested in becoming an actor and singing in a different language, dedication is mandatory for success. Both Pachecano and Scott admitted that they gave up several other activities in order to do what they love.

If you are a type of person who does not particularly enjoy operas or romantic movies, regardless, you would enjoy Don Pasquale. The eponym for the opera becomes the center of the plot, and everyone else tricks him into thinking he married a lovely bride when in reality, the bride was his nephew’s lover who managed to convince him that she and his nephew should marry. In the end, everyone is happy, and even Don Pasquale admits that he was foolish for stopping his nephew from getting married to the one he loves.