BRILLIANT BRYN IS A RIOT IN THIS JAUNTY CLASSIC

IT IS almost a decade since we last saw Donizetti’s comedy masterpiece at Covent Garden and this new production by an all-Italian team is the best since the classic Ponnelle staging of 1973.

Not to spoil any surprises, Bryn Terfel’s elderly Pasquale (pictured) is stuck in the Sixties, while Ernesto and Dr Malatesta are the epitome of today’s Italian cool and Norina is a sparky young lady running a photographic studio. Clever use is made of 21st-century tech.

Since he first essayed Italian buffo roles, Terfel has loosened up and is much funnier. He is a big fellow — so was the original Pasquale, Luigi Lablache, later Queen Victoria’s singing teacher — but moves like a Welsh rugby three-quarter and still has the grand voice.

Making her Royal Opera House debut, Russian soprano Olga Peretyatko is an insouciant Norina with a touch of acid. Her Ernesto, Romanian tenor Ioan Hotea, makes a lovely sound. Tiny flaws in their tuning will surely be ironed out as the run proceeds. Austrian baritone Markus Werba (as Dr Malatesta) lacks Italian roundness of sound but is a tidy singer and a convincing mainspring of the action. Director Damiano Michieletto keeps everyone on the move in Paolo Fantin’s ingenious set, making good use of the revolve. Donizetti wanted the opera in modern dress, so he would probably approve. From the first bar of the overture, Evelino Pido shows his command of Donizetti style. He gets lovely sounds from the orchestra — special nods to cellist Tim Hugh and trumpeter Ian Balmain. The chorus is well marshalled in the servants’ Act 3 scene. All I miss is the traditional reprise of the patter duet. This opera is often accused of being heartless, but it is to everyone’s credit that the composer’s compensating warmth is well brought out. See it broadcast live at your local cinema next Thursday, with an encore screening on October 27.