Metropolitan Opera Preview: L'Elisir d'Amore

Anna Netrebko returns in Donizetti's Chianti-fueled comedy.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Anna Netrebko (center) as Adina in Act II of L'Elisir d'Amore.
Photo by Nick Heavican © 2012 The Metropolitan Opera. 

The Met opened the 2012 season with this Bartlett Sher staging of Donizetti's L'Elisir d'Amore, the frothy bel canto comedy where a country bumpkin wins the girl with help from a very special bottle of vino. Here, Anna Netrebko stars as the coquettish Adina opposite tenor Ramon Vargas. Starring as Doctor Dulcamara: Ms. Netrebko's real life paramour, Uruguayan bass Erwin Schrott.
One of the most popular comedies in the operatic repertory, L'elisir takes elements of the Tristan legend and transports them to the rural Italian countryside  This production updates the action and ratchets up the tension (why?!) by making the quack Doctor Dulcamara an arms smuggler helping to arm peasant guerillas, presumably so they can fight off the contingent of Austrian troops (led by the bellicose Sergeant Belcore, played here by Simone Alaimo) that march into the little village in Act I.

If you leave out the politics and gun-running (and we will for the rest of this preview) this is a wonderful opera, with true love triumphing over perceived social class differences and economic barriers. Nemorino, for all his drunken tomfoolery, is a sweet lad and it takes him nearly getting drafted into the army to alert Adina that she is about to let the best bachelor in their little village slip through her fingers. It's also a great "starter" opera with hummable, memorable melodies including the tenor showpiece "Una furtiva lagrima."
L'Elisir d'Amore opens Jan. 9, 2014.
Recording Recommendations:
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra cond. Vittorio Gui (Glyndebourne, 1962, released 2010)
Nemorino: Luigi Alva
Adina: Mirella Freni
Belcore: Enzo Sordello
Doctor Dulcamara: Sesto Bruscantini
A revalation: this tape sat in the vault for almost half a century before being released in a 2 disc package last year. The young Freni is miraculous here, paired with bel canto specialist Luigi Alva. A thrilling live performance taped in the intimate conflicts of the Glyndebourne Festival.
English Chamber Orchestra cond. Richard Bonynge (Decca, 1972)
Nemorino: Luciano Pavarotti
Adina: Joan Sutherland
Belcore: Dominic Cossa
Doctor Dulcamara: Spiro Malas
This is one of the classic Decca recordings pairing the unbeatable combination of Sutherland and Pavarotti in bel canto repertory. Luciano injects his ineffable charm into the role of the lovestruck Nemorino. Sutherland's cool approach to the music suits the bookish Adina. With her husband conducting, La Stupenda takes a different cabaletta than the norm in Act II, singing one written for the great Maria Malibran.
Tickets for L'Elisir d'Amore are available at MetOperaFamily.Org, by calling (212) 362-6000, or at the box office starting August 11.