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| ELIXIR |
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| ELIXIR |
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| top right Dr Dulcamara [baritone Sir Thomas Allen] "Io son ricco, e tu sei bella, |
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Sir Thomas Allen has inhabited the
world's opera stages for more than 30 years, his lyric baritone and superior acting skills
ranging from Monteverdi to Britten, Don Giovanni to Don Alfonso. "At different times in my career I've dodged between being a bass baritone, a baritone, and at other times a tenor. I am fortunate in that I have this tendency (I was going to say delight), to enjoy singing in the higher regions of the voice... but I think it would be awful having a life as a tenor who only ever gets out there to sing famous arias." His repertoire is well-recorded, both on CD and video - regrettably, none of those fully convey his almost mesmerizing hold over an audience or the way he commands a stage. |
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| block - top Nemorino begs Adina for one more day before she marries Belcore... one more day to give the elixir time to work... one more day before she falls in love with him. [tenor Ramón Vargas and soprano Ruth Ann Swenson] |
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| block - lower left The quack Dr Dulcama arrives in town with his travelling medicine show to peddle miracle cures to the peasants. [baritone Sir Thomas Allen] |
block - lower right The dashing Sergeant Belcore is completely irresistible to women - and knows it. [baritone Rodney Gilfry] |
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| fourth row Adina is confused by Nemorino's new couldn't-care-less attitude; Belcore is pleased at having persuaded Adina to marry him in six days' time. All this will change in a few minutes, when Belcore's regiment is ordered to march - Nemorino continues to laugh because he knows that "tomorrow" Adina will love him. Adina, irritated by his cavalier attitude, somewhat spitefully agrees to marry Belcore that very afternoon, instantly plunging Nemorino into despair. [soprano Ruth Ann Swenson, baritone Rodney Gilfry and tenor Ramón Vargas] |
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| bottom Nemorino sings the romanza "Una furtiva lagrima," for more than a century, one of the best-known arias in the tenor repertoire. It was the composer Donizetti who insisted on placing this aria in the opera, over the objections of librettist Romani, who complained that the slow pace "held up the action." Despite the pacing and the mention of tears, it is an expression of joy as he recognizes that his beloved Adina at last loves him in return. [tenor Ramón Vargas] One furtive tear |
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| Legend has it that Donizetti composed L'elisir d'amore in only 2 weeks, but there is slight evidence for this. It seems to be based on a letter, quoted above, but it may have been somewhat tongue-in- cheek. He probably had about 5 weeks... still a remarkably short time, even for one who enjoyed working quickly - particularly when the result is a masterpiece. | ||||
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| TOP OF PAGE | ||||
| Los Angeles Opera presents | ||
| THE ELIXIR OF LOVE by Gaetano Donizetti | ||
| May 1999 | ||
| Conductor | ||
| Director | ||
| Set Design | ||
| Costume Design | ||
| Nemorino | Ramón Vargas | |
| Adina | Ruth Ann Swenson | |
| Dr Dulcamara | Thomas Allen | |
| Belcore | Rodney Gilfry | |
| Gianetta | Catherine Ireland | |
| EXPLORE MORE | ||
EXPLORE |
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| Opera Basics - An Introduction Explore More: Top 10 Ways to Fall in Love With Opera Singers &
Singing WORDS
& MUSIC SHOP |
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 Explore more about opera and art in ML Hart's award-winning The Art of Making Opera "... this book shows the everyday goings-on in an opera company." |
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