Vancouver Opera. Danlie Rae Acebuque is covering the role of Dr. Malatesta in Donizetti’s Don Pasquale.

Given a mid-20th century Technicolour makeover by the acclaimed creative duo of costume/set designer André Barbe and stage director/choreographer Renaud Doucet, Don Pasquale’s world bustles with a ramshackle vibrancy.

The aging bachelor’s scheme to marry and disinherit his rebellious nephew Ernesto is countered by a hilarious bait-and-switch caper hatched by Dr. Malatesta and Ernesto’s love, Norina, going undercover as Pasquale’s new and decidedly not-as-advertised bride.

With an all-star cast and music calibrated for virtuosity, Donizetti’s comic masterpiece of inter-generational jealousy and reconciliation, young love, and madcap machinations bursts with vivid colour and endlessly engaging melodies.