04-19-01

By Marge Victor, 541-737-5592
SOURCE: OSU Music Department, 541-737-4061

CORVALLIS - The Oregon State University Department of Music and Opera Theater Corvallis will present Donizetti's comic opera "Don Pasquale" April 27-29 at the Majestic Theatre in Corvallis.

The production will be sung in English. Performances begin at 7:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday evenings, and at 2 p.m. on Sunday.

"Don Pasquale" is a lighthearted tale of love, intrigue, and deception. Elderly bachelor Don Pasquale, wishing to marry, upsets his nephew Ernesto's plans of marriage to the beautiful Norina. Dr. Malatesta masterminds a scheme to ostensibly aid Don Pasquale, but ultimately brings the young lovers together.

Portland baritone James Wood makes his Opera Theater Corvallis (OTC) debut in the title role. Amy Hansen and David Gustafson return to the stage as young lovers Norina and Ernesto. Erik Hundtoft, award-winning vocalist and another OTC veteran, sings the role of the scheming Dr. Malatesta.

Stage director David Howell and music director Marlan Carlson collaborate to bring this 19th- century classic to the stage. A veteran singer, performer, and director, Howell brings the work into the 20th century with art deco-inspired staging and costumes. Corvallis audiences will remember him as the witch in OTC's "Hansel and Gretel" and as lovesick tenor Alfredo in its 1999 production of "Die Fledermaus."

Carlson will lead a 30-piece orchestra in his 10th appearance as OTC music director. Carlson is chair of the OSU Department of Music and music director of the Corvallis-OSU Symphony Orchestra.

"We are thrilled to bring together such an extraordinarily talented cast," Carlson said. "This is an opera that has become a staple of opera houses throughout the world. Audiences love its memorable melodies. In addition to being a great story with a happy ending, it's an opportunity for singers to show off the full range of their technical, musical and dramatic abilities."

Baritone Wood's operatic work includes performances with the San Francisco, Dallas, Dublin Grand, and Portland operas. A Pavarotti Competition finalist, he will also join the Corvallis-OSU Symphony this May in a performance of operatic arias by Tchaikovsky, Puccini, and Wagner.

Soprano Hansen, was a 2000 Metropolitan Opera Auditions regional finalist, and has been studying in New York City this year with Metropolitan Opera assistant director Joan Dornemann. Recent performances have been with the New Israeli Opera orchestra, the Portland and Sacramento operas, the Oregon Symphony, and at the Cascade Music Festival.

She has been a soloist with orchestras in New York City, Washington D.C., Cleveland, Indianapolis, and across the Midwest and performed in recent OTC productions of "Gianni Schicchi" and "Die Fledermaus."

Tenor Gustafson, who sang opposite Hansen in "Gianni Schicchi," made his professional opera debut in 1997 as Tamino in the Eugene Opera production of Mozart's "The Magic Flute." Since then, he has performed opera and oratorio extensively on the West Coast, singing lead roles in Mozart's "Cosi Fan Tutte," Donizetti's "The Elixir of Love," Mozart's "Don Giovanni," Handel's "Giulio Cesare," Puccini's "Gianni Schicchi," Henry Mollicone's "The Face on the Barroom Floor," and others. His 2001 schedule includes performances in Denmark and London, and with the Knoxville Opera and Utah Festival Opera.

Hundtoft, a baritone, was a winner of the 1999 Oregon District Metropolitan Opera competition. His extensive stage work includes major roles in OTC's "Gianni Schicchi," "Hansel and Gretel" and "Die Fledermaus," and numerous OSU Theatre productions.

Tickets are available at Scandinavian Trading Company on Madison Avenue in Corvallis, and at Sid Stevens Jewelers in Albany. Admission is $20. For information, call the Opera Hotline at 758-2478.

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