L’Elisir d’amore

It is harvest time. The wheat is tender, much like the heart of Nemorino, a young peasant consumed with love for the beautiful, capricious Adina. Faced with her indifference and fear oflosing her to a rival, he naively buys a love potion from Dulcamara, an itinerant doctor, without realising that it is... a simple bottle of wine! Although Gaetano Donizetti had only fourteen days to compose L’Elisir d’amore , premiered at Milan’s Teatro della Canobbiana in 1832, the opera has enjoyed unwavering success ever since. Its charm lies in a deliciously melodic score sprinkled with caressing, delicate arias such as Nemorino’s famous romance “Una furtiva lagrima” , making it a masterpiece of bel canto. Director Laurent Pelly transposes this melodramma giocoso to 1960s Italy, giving it a heady touch of dolce vita .