We saw the opera Don Pasquale last night. It's a trifle as far as the story goes: uncle refuses nephew's request to marry his true love. His friend tricks the uncle into "marrying" the beloved, and she makes his life so hellish that when he is told she is his nephew's love and he isn't legally married, he gives his blessing and learns his lesson: old men should not think of marrying, they should leave it to the young. Everyone was having so much fun on stage, and the music and voices were so divine, that the confection stayed afloat. Sometimes the message just doesn't matter, and after all, this was written in 1843. Now Trump can keep marrying beauty queens until he's 100, no questions asked.
Interestingly, the tenor/nephew is black. In the notes he says he's had trouble convincing people of his rightness for romantic roles, but the proof is in the production. Anyone with such a voice (and acting ability) would be swooned over by the totality of the female audience. He was delightful, and totally persuasive. His comedic chops are firmly established by this role as well. And also in the notes, he mentions he has an autistic 3 year old son, and hopes to do more outreach and volunteering on behalf of research into the disability. He also said he couldn't do anything about being black or short but decided he could stop being round, so he went on a diet and got slim. Such transparency is amazing and touching. What an enlightened being he seems to be for one so young. His voice is lovely both musically and morally.
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