Product Details

• Actors: Cesare Valletti, Alda Noni, Sesto Bruscantini, Italo Tajo, Alberto Erede
• Format: Black & White, Classical, NTSC
• Language: Italian
• Region: All Regions
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Bel Canto Society
• DVD Release Date: April 18, 2006
• Run Time: 108 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• ASIN: B000E3LD3G
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #145,449 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

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  #52 in	Movies & TV > Musicals & Performing Arts > Classical > By Composer > Donizetti, Gaetano
  #99 in	Movies & TV > Classics > International > Italy

Editorial Reviews

From the Director

Alan Blyth, reviewing in Gramophone:

"The RAI Pasquale of 1955 is almost as good as the two Verdis [#4 Otello, currently unavailable, and #551 Traviata, marred only by Italo Tajo's overdone mugging in the title-part. Alda Noni, remembered affectionately by older opera-goers in the same part at London's Cambridge Theatre in the late 1940s, remains a charming, minxish though now more buxom Norina. Sesto Bruscantini is a model of a Malatesta, Cesare Valletti even better as an Ernesto in the class of his teacher, Tito Schipa. Erede's seasoned conducting and a resourceful staging makes this a delightful experience."

Product Description

Tully Potter, reviewing in International Opera Collector:

"Opera enthusiasts are always nostalgic for singers of bygone ages; and although I would sooner have a good record than a bad film, there is a fascination just in being able to see how these marvels or monsters of the past moved. So Bel Canto Society is doing us a real favour in making so much old (and not so old) film and TV footage readily available.

"Don Pasquale is a gem. A 1955 Italian TV film with a cast which has rarely been equalled. Italo Tajo is an ideal Pasquale, firm of voice, histrionically hilarious but never going over the top; Sesto Bruscantini is a marvellous Malatesta, more human than this character is usually made; and these two great buffos seem to have more facial muscles between them than the rest of us put together. Their duet (without reprise) is a tour de force. Alda Noni has exactly the right mix of acid and humour for Norina and Cesare Valletti is a likeable, believable Ernesto. There has not been a better sung Don Pasquale; and both sound and vision are quite good in this edition. Alberto Erede conducts sensitively, opening some traditional cuts (the tenor caballetta is still out.)"

See all Editorial Reviews

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Old black and white film, no subtitles, May 19, 2006

By	Toni Bernhard (Davis, CA United States) - See all my reviews

Because it has no subtitles, I recommend this production only if you are familiar with Don Pasquale. It's a black and white made-for-Italian-TV film from 1955. The performances are excellent, but the sound isn't always in synch with the picture. If you already love Don Pasquale, this is definitely worth owning for its great buffo acting and its fine singing.