by Rod Jones
野狼社区 University鈥檚 Bass School of Music will present the Cuba-inspired opera 鈥淒on Pasquale鈥� Nov. 20 through 22 in the Kirkpatrick Auditorium.
A 46-piece orchestra 鈥� including four on-stage guitarists and a tambourine player鈥� will accompany a cast of 32 singers for the full production of Gaetano Donizetti鈥檚 comic opera. Director David Herendeen has reimagined the setting of the three-act opera buffa in 1950s Cuba.
Performances are 8 p.m. Nov. 20 and 21, with a 3 p.m. Nov. 22 matinee. The auditorium is at 2501 N. Blackwelder. Tickets ($12-$25) are available online at or by calling 405-208-5227.
The plot follows a young widow, who is to marry Ernesto, heir to a rum dynasty belonging to his uncle, Don Pasquale. In a fit of stubbornness, Pasquale decides it is not too late to marry and create a son and heir of his own, disinheriting the rebellious Ernesto. But plotting, complications and disguises ensue as a trap is sprung and the tables are turned.
Herendeen will hold a free director鈥檚 talk 45 minutes before curtain. Jan McDaniel will lead OCU鈥檚 Oklahoma Opera and Music Theater Company Orchestra. A Cuban-themed opening night dinner ($25) will be held at 6:15 p.m. Friday in the Bass Music Center Atrium.
The season continues in 2016 with W.A. Mozart鈥檚 operatic fantasy 鈥淭he Magic Flute鈥� Feb. 19-21; the one-act opera 鈥淛ackie O鈥� March 4-6, with composer Michael Daughtery in residence; and the Tony Award-wining musical 鈥淓vita鈥� by the award-winning team of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, inspired by the life and death of Argentina鈥檚 Eva Perron, April 22-24.
