The magic potion dubbed the elixir of love creates an intense mood of

passion between the main lovers of Donizettis prominent opera LElisir

dAmore
6 April 2016
Review for Opera News

By ELIZABETH PHAM

This comedic opera or opera buffacomposed by Donizetti shows the

audience the strange ways of love and how it affects different people.
Through comedic archetypes and character development, the audience
follows the love story of Nemorino, played by Vittorio Grigolo, and Adina,
played by Aleksandra Kurzak. Nemorino, a young villager is hopelessly in
love with the beautiful farm owner, Adina. The love Nemorino has for Adina is
a lost cause due to the fact that Adina is a strong, independent woman figure
who does not want to be tied down to a single person, but rather, changes
her affections every single day.

As Adina reads about a magic love potion, the pompous Sergeant

Belcore arrives and immediately asks her to marry him. Adina states that she
is in no hurry to make up her mind, but will consider the offer. Feeling
heartbroken that Adina would even consider Belcores offer, Nemorino seeks
the elixir of love from Dulcamara, a traveling purveyor of patent medicines.
Dulcamara hands him a bottle of Bordeaux as a placebo; creating the illusion

that the the effects of the potion are working. Adina continues to postpone
the wedding, while Nemorino continuously purchases more elixir from
Dulcamara, but soon runs out of money and considers joining the army to
receive money to pay him back. He does not know that his uncle has recently
died and left him a fortune of money. As the story goes on, Adina continues
to fall in love with Nemorino more and more until one day she is unable to
stand the indifference that Nemorino directed towards her. Adina attempts to
win Nemorino back by confessing her love for him, leaving Nemorino the
happiest man in the village. In an ironic twist, it seems that this elixir of
love worked in the end and helped Nemorino and Adina become lovers.
Dulcamara ends the opera by singing about his amazing potion and the
incredible things that one could achieve from drinking it. Thanks to Adina
and Nemorino, Dulcamara has proof and is able to justify the wonders his
love potion can bring.

The dramatic character development Adina showcases throughout the

opera was genuine and natural. It was interesting to see Adina feigning her
indifference towards Nemorino in the beginning, but by the end she is the
one confessing her love to him. Belcore, portrayed by Adam Plachetka, had a
rushed and unnatural character development, despite his incredible vocal
ability. He fell in love with Adina within seconds of meeting her and
attempted to marry her impulsively. In the end, he does not fight for her love
and only dismisses her, which shows no gradual character development.

One of the most beautiful things about the opera were the intricate set
designs. The scrim that would come down between scene changes helped us
create an image of a fairytale book, where each time the screen arose a new
page was being flipped to in the story. The costumes were quite simple,
but helped create the illusion of a little village in Italy. The main characters
costumes stood out because of their brighter colors. Adinas dress stood out
because she was the only one wearing red, symbolizing her fiery and strong
minded personality, while the other women wore light, almost plain dresses.

This opera surpassed all of my expectations when it comes to the

music that the performers produced. Aleksandra Kurzak, who played Adina,
is an up and coming soprano with a brilliant voice. She was able to create an
elaborate coloratura, which captured the emotions that was being
communicated to the audience. The cadenza, aria Una Furtiva Lagrima,
performed by Nemorino (Vittorio Grigolo) towards the end of the play about
confessing his intense love for Adina left an impression on the audience who
gave him a well deserved standing ovation. This was the first time during the
whole opera that he was able to show off his amazing vocal ability and
technique.

This opera buffa was refreshing to watch and listen to as my first live
opera due to its lack of a serious or somber tone. Most often you hear of

serious or tragic operas with heart wrenching stories, but the comedic tone
of this opera made it more enjoyable. Although it was distracting and almost
tiring to have to read the subtitles in order to understand the opera, having
the play in Italian is something that I can respect. The Elixir of Love made
you feel many different emotions and taught a lighthearted lesson about the
strange nature of love.