Veerani Tailor

April 6th, 2016

L'Elisir d'Amore: A Terrific Portrayal of Donizettis Timeless Opera

The Metropolitans production of L'Elisir d'Amore captured the essence of Donizettis
enduring opera. The Elixir of Love combines silly comedy with pangs of emotion to create a
beautiful rendition of this timeless opera.
Nemorino, a peasant, is in love with the wealthy and beautiful Adina, but she only has
eyes for the handsome but narcissistic sergeant Belcore. Dr. Dulcamara, a traveling salesman,
tricks Nemorino in to buying a love potion, which in reality is just cheap wine. The love
potion's effect is meant to work after 24 hours but Belcore regiment is called away and Adina
and his wedding is pushed forward. Desperate for more money, Nemorino enlists in the military,
unaware that his uncle died leaving him a fortune. Obvious that the influx of women swooning
over him is because of his money, Nemorino believes that the love potion is working. Seeing
Nemorino with many women, Adina becomes jealous and Nemorino realizes that Adina is
touched by his devotion to her. Adina, in the end buys Nemorinos discharge, rejects Belcore, and
they marry.
Youre able to discern that the cast was very thought out. Each singer portrayed their
character very well and each singer's voice had a beautiful timbre to it. The soprano, Alexandra
Kurzak, was beautiful and her voice fit Adinas character very nicely. I do wish she would have
played with her character a bit more, changing up her dynamic and tone to keep the audience

more engaged. Surprisingly i loved the tenor, Vittorio Grigolo, because you were able to feel the
projection of his voice bounce throughout the house. They also had a good use of tone and
dynamics to coincide their acting. The Baritone, Alessandro Corbelli is well-suited for the comic
role of Dulcamara even though their voice wasn't very rich. The bass Adam Plachetka strong
voice helped him play the swaggering Belcore very well.
What really caught my eye was the attention to detail in the set design. Chief set designer
Michael Yeargan. Really put a lot of effort in portraying the tone and mood through the use of
props, lighting, and set orientation. I do wish Nemorinos costume portrayed him more as a
peasant, I felt it's an important part of his character and it needed to be shown through more in
his costume. Also with Belcore costume I believe it was too distracting with the rest of the
neutral colors on the stage, blue is a color of trust but the audience needs to know not to trust
Belcore.
The cast is certainly up to the demands of the dramatic but light hearted opera. The tenor,
Vittorio Gregorio is very likeable and this showed when he brought down the house with an
array for Bravos and Bravas with his aria Una Furtiva lagrima, one of the most famous
arias in the opera. Alexandra Kurzak is beautiful and has the ability to be dramatic while still
being being graceful and this is shown in her aria Prendi, per me sei libero.
Overall this unfading opera performed at the metropolitan still has the energy it had when
it first started. The cast is wonderfully chosen and their love and spirit for the opera shows
throughout. Every detail has been chosen to mean something and I believe that's what makes it
great. L'Elisir d'Amore is an operatic favorite for the past two centuries and you're able to see
why the joy is in the journey you take with Nemorinos and Adina try and be with their one

true love. I highly recommend seeing this lovely opera; it's a timeless story that is an amazing
experience for anyone to watch.