Split Personality

Three roles in one.

Plenty of operatic soprano roles provide opportunities for scenery-chewing mood swings, but none go quite so Three Faces of Eve as Norina in Donizetti’s Don Pasquale. Ernesto loves her, but is forbidden to marry her by his uncle the Don. So Norina is persuaded to pose as the sweet, shy “Sofronia,” and the Don marries her himself—at which point she turns into an untamed shrew. Designed for up-and-coming singers as eager to perfect their theatrical skills as their vocal ones, the Seattle Opera Young Artists Program has chosen Don Pasquale for its annual spring production. If ever you’ll find a soprano who’ll sink her teeth into the challenge of playing three characters in one role, it’ll be here. Amanda Opuszynski and Lindsay Russell trade off as Norina, two performances each.