L’elisir d’amore
A comic opera in 2 acts (chamber version)
LIbretto by Felice Romani after Eugène Scribe’s libretto for Daniel Auber’s comic opera Le philtre
L’elisir d’amore, a comic opera by 19th-century Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti, which remains his most-performed opera up to this day. It tells the story of a poor, naive boy named Nemorino (alluding to Latin nemo, which means ‘nobody’), hopelessly in love with the beautiful Adina, who enjoys not only the life of a wealthy heiress but also the advances of a different lover every day; about a shy lad’s idea to follow Tristan’s example and win the love of his own Isolde by drinking the magic potion mentioned in the legend; and about sincere feelings—the real elixir of love—that eventually overcome all obstacles. For almost two centuries, the bel canto arias and duets from The Elixir of Love have made the hearts of opera lovers race in theatres and concert halls around the world, where the tenors’ favourite romance of Nemorino, “Una furtiva lagrima”, is still frequently heard today.
Karina Novikova, a young opera director who directed the new production of The Elixir of Love at the Klaipėda State Music Theatre, has conceived a more intimate version of the opera, designed to be performed in small venues, where the connection with the audience is more intimate, and therefore particularly suitable for the theme of love. According to her, “the plot of this 1832 opera sounds as if it were taken from the notes of a contemporary psychotherapist or a Netflix series. It ends happily, but we would hardly like to see a sequel, because everything in the relationship between the hedonist Adina and the romantic Nemorino is very fragile. It was very important for me to find a balance between the entertaining and dramatic elements of comedy, while at the same time highlighting the very sensitive central story.” So the audience is in for an exhilarating evening bursting with strong emotions, bright colours, and comic antics!
AWARDS
Catch the Wave (26/03/2024, Klaipėda) to stage director Karina Novikova and choreographer Daria Verovka for saving the premiere and enhancing the comical nature of Gaetano Donizetti’s opera (Challenge of the Year); to Giedrius Gečys for the role of Nemorino (Best Male Opera Soloist of the Year 2023)
