'Don Pasquale' on TOP FM

I am not sure that the opera Don Pasquale is widely known. The composer was Gaetano Donizetti, a contemporary of the more famous Gioacchino Rossini, but Donizetti was more prolific than Rossini. There is no doubt about his musical craftsmanship. He wrote dozens of operas in a relatively short time because he had to pay off a debt. His debt compelled him to produce operas in great quantity to gain enough money to meet his obligation. His works are musically enjoyable nonetheless.

Radio Klasik TOP FM, now in its 12th month, has at long last come forward with a complete Italian opera in bel canto style. Why the radio station acquired Donizetti's Don Pasquale instead of one of the composer's better-known operas (Lucia di Lammermoor, L'Elisir d'amore and La fille du regiment) puzzles me deeply. Strangely, the choice could not have been better, first because Don Pasquale proved to be a delightful work (I was familiar with two or three arias only) and second, Maestro Riccardo Muti was in excellent command of his forces, among them Sesto Bruscantini in the title role and Mirella Freni in very good voice.

Donizetti's Don Pasquale was right for an antipasto. As the main course, hopefully to be served in the next few months, I would suggest Mozart's Cosi fan tutte, Verdi's Aida or La Traviata. And to close, at least temporarily, the festive season of Italian operas, Puccini's La Boheme comes to mind.

That is a list for early Christmas shopping with which Radio Klasik can delight its listeners!

I know the station will present Richard Wagner's tetralogy during October. This full cycle of the Ring is a different diet indeed from the spirit of bel canto, but it will be a great occasion for sustained rapturous listening. Well, even people who say they do not like classical music have been exposed to Wagner's music in Francis Coppola's Apocalypse Now, during the film's helicopter raid.

I am gratefully looking forward to the continued success of Radio Klasik in its second year, which starts next month.

S. HARMONO

Jakarta