L'elisir d'amore

The somewhat clumsy and poor Nemorino is secretly in love with the rich Adina. She plays a game with him, pretending not to feel love for him. At the same time, a group of friends is putting their relationship and social status under pressure. Nemorino feels rejected and loses his self-confidence, but partygoer Dulcamara has a "miracle cure" for him. Meanwhile, out of self-interest Belcore does everything in his power to keep the two apart, while the young Giannetta is preoccupied with increasing her own popularity. By dawn, no one is the same.

In a contemporary version by director Marcos Darbyshire, Donizetti's comic opera L'elisir d'amore is a coming of age opera about exploring your own identity and losing your innocence. 

‘There will be a lot of laughter, but rather wíth the characters than át them.’

Director Marcos Darbyshire

Bel canto

Together with Rossini and Bellini, Donizetti is thé composer of the Italian bel canto style from the early nineteenth century. In his L'elisir d'amore, lyrical long lines alternate with vocal fireworks, in which the emotions of the characters and the timbre of the singers are central. In Darbyshire's direction, it is not the storyline that is central, but the relationship between and the psychological growth of the characters. The opera will be presented in a new arrangement for an adapted ensemble, with the young talents of the Dutch National Opera Studio in the leading roles.

 

Unique cooperation

This special adaptation of L'elisir d'amore marks the beginning of a long-term collaborations between the three major Dutch opera companies. Opera Zuid, De Nederlandse Reisopera and Dutch National Opera are joining forces in an exchange of expertise, knowledge and experience, in which the singers of the Dutch National Opera Studio will be deployed.