blog | John Pascoe

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a tribute to Plàcido Domingo

Plàcido Domingo and I in 2000, during our first project together for Washington Opera, Handel’s Giulio Cesare, for which I directed and designed the sets.

Before I leave behind this 2013/14 season, I want to say a huge thank you to the great Plàcido Domingo who has commissioned and conducted so many of my recent successes. As it happened, they were all presented in one form or another during this last season and thankfully were greeted with universal applause. He was the inspiration behind all of them, and through him and his Artistic Director Christine Scheppelmann, I was blessed with the opportunity of working with some of the very greatest artists on the planet.

First, my Don Giovanni (originally created in 2007) featuring Ildar Abdrazakov and Barbara Frittoli (below) was presented in the beginning of the 2013 season in September 2012.

Then my Manon Lescaut (originally created in 2004) featuring Patricia Racette (below) was presented in March of 2013. Both productions were for Washington National Opera.

Thirdly, the DVD and BluRay of my Lucrezia Borgia (below) featuring the great Renée Fleming which was originally created in Washington in 2008 were released in November of 2013 by Euro Arts from the 2011 San Francisco Opera revival conducted by Riccardo Frizza.

All these productions were created for, and originally conducted by, Plàcido Domingo for Washington National Opera during the time when he headed the company. BRAVO PLÀCIDO!

Renée Fleming in Act II, sc ii of Lucrezia Borgia (costume design: John Pascoe)

Following these successes, I was flattered to be invited by William Burnett to create a ‘conversation’ with him on his prestigious website, Opera Warhorses.

This dealt with the creation/rehearsal process of the Lucrezia Borgia with Plàcido at the helm. The success of the first conversation has since led to my being invited by William to offer a regular series dedicated to discussing different aspects of my work and various opera-related subjects. To read the latest, click here .

Shakespeare al fresco blog

Publicity for my production of Twelfth Night (Dodicesima Notte) at Italy’s Licinium open-air Shakespeare theatre

In 2012 I was appointed artistic director of Italy’s ‘Il Teatro Licinium’, the beautiful neo-classical open-air theatre situated on top of a wooded hill within the city of Erba, Como, that represents Italy in the worldwide Shakespeare Theatre Association.

When I met the board of directors and the president, Signora Luisa Rovida de Sanctis, I was delighted to be offered the enchanting theatre and a tiny operating budget. But the real gift was the mandate to create my own form of Shakespearean production. How could I resist? So far I have staged two productions, using a ‘carpet’ of music as a base for the text, and making extensive use of video scenery (see YouTube video ). Every summer I work with excellent professional actors from nearby Milan, as well as talented local performers, on a magical circular stage that has a potency I’ve never before experienced. Financial support is from local businesses and local government bodies: Comune D’Erba, Provincia di Como, Camera di Commercio di Como and Regione Lombardia. We are blessed with an extensive family of faithful supporters many of whom give their services free. Local artists create the physical scenery (led by Francesca Ghedini) and costumes (led by Sara Bianchi). I am also hugely fortunate to have the services of an excellent video artist, Stefano Pan, who collaborates with me endlessly and patiently. Frequently we rehearse in the blazing heat of an Italian summer’s afternoon or in the unexpected chill of the evening. All lighting/video projection rehearsals have to start at sundown, so work often continues through the night …. For me, this is the creative process at its most exciting.