The Elixir of Love Gaetano Donizetti Performed in Italian with Supertitles Oh, what a wonderful drink! Toast the holidays with this hilarious concoction and delightful romp through the Italian countryside with this intoxicating romantic comedy CONDUCTOR: JOSEPH WALSH STAGE DIRECTOR: DOROTHY DANNER

Full Synopsis

A drum roll announces the arrival of the bombastic and dashing Sergeant Belcore leading a troop of soldiers. He gives Adina a bouquet and asks her to marry him, commenting aside that he knows she’ll accept because he’s so handsome. Adina , however tells him she needs time to think it over. She orders refreshments for the weary soldiers and instructs the peasants to get back to their work. As they leave Nemorino calls her aside and professes his love but she expresses boredom with his swooning and suggests that he find new diversions and adventures. She prefers to remain free and capricious.

(scene ii). Dr. Dulcamara, a congenial and talkative quack, arrives in the town square generating a great deal of excitement. He extolls the wonders of his extraordinary remedy, which is guaranteed to cure all ills. The peasants buy eagerly, delighted that the potion is so inexpensive. The naive and gullible Nemorino asks the doctor if he also sells the Elixir of Queen Isolde. Dulcamara produces a bottle of cheap red wine and claims that it will cause Adina to fall in love with him after twenty-four hours have passed – which is enough time for the good doctor to have left town. 

Nemorino purchases the bottle and begins to drink, eventually becoming quite tipsy. Adina appears and is annoyed to find him singing and laughing instead of languishing over her. When Belcore arrives Adina flirts with him to punish Nemorino for ignoring her, even promising to marry Belcore in six days time. Suddenly the soldiers rush in bringing orders from the Captain to leave the village in the morning. Belcore implores Adina to marry him immediately, and to his delight and Nemorino’s distress, she consents. Nemorino begs her to wait just one day – which is the time he needs for the elixir to take effect – but Adina rebuffs him, inviting everyone to her marriage feast. As the villagers mock him Nemorino calls out for Dr. Dulcamara’s help.

– INTERMISSION –

ACT II (scene i). The guests have arrived for the pre-wedding supper at the farmhouse and Nemorino’s absence is quite obvious to the distracted Adina. In honor of the occasion Dulcamara suggests that Adina join him in singing a duet he has written. At its completion Belcore announces the arrival of the notary, and everyone but Dulcamara moves to an adjoining room for the signing of the marriage contract. Nemorino enters, greatly distressed, and upon seeing the doctor asks how he might hasten the effect of the potion. Dulcamara suggests he double the dosage but Nemorino has no money with which to buy another bottle. At that moment Belcore reappears, unhappy that Adina has postponed signing the contract until evening. Questioning the despondent Nemorino, he learns that the lad has no money. Belcore tells Nemorino to join the army to receive an immediate bonus in silver. Nemorino signs the necessary papers and quickly takes the money as Belcore rejoices over having recruited his own rival.

(scene ii). Giannetta hears some exciting news which she shares with the village girls – Nemorino’s old uncle has passed away leaving him all his riches, but no one must know until it is made official. When Nemorino appears, unaware of his inheritance, the village girls flock around him. He attributes their sudden interest to the effects of the elixir, which must be working. Adina arrives accompanied by Dulcamara and becomes extremely jealous when she sees the local girls pursuing Nemorino. Dulcamara tells her of the elixir and suggests that she purchase some for herself. When she hears that Nemorino has sold his freedom for her she is deeply moved and realizes that she is in love with him.

Left alone with Nemorino, Adina confesses that she has purchased his enlistment papers and begs him not to go away as a soldier. She admits her love for him and asks forgiveness for her earlier actions. Nemorino is overjoyed by Adina’s change of heart and is thrilled to hear of his legacy. Belcore accepts his defeat with bravado – after all, the world is full of women awaiting his attentions. Dr. Dulcamara attributes Nemorino’s good fortune to the elixir and quickly sells his entire stock to the villagers. He is hailed by all (except Belcore!) as he climbs into his carriage and triumphantly drives away.

About the Composer

Gaetano Donizetti (1797-1848)
Gaetano Donizetti was born in Bergamo, Italy, on Nov. 29, 1797. He came from a poor family and was fortunate to have his talent discovered at an early age. He studied in both Bergamo and Bologna and received excellent training from Simon Mayr and Padre Mattei. Donizetti developed into one of the most prolific composers of the bel canto period. In addition to his seventy operas he composed twelve string quartets, seven masses, and a multitude of songs, piano music, cantatas, motets, and psalms.

The opera composers of the bel canto period were travelers, moving from one opera house to another, composing and staging their work. Donizetti was no exception. He accepted every commission proffered in order to support himself financially, sometimes producing as many as four operas in a single year. He toured all of Italy producing new operas, many of which were great successes. By the time he had composed Anna Bolena in 1830 this congenial and outgoing man was famous throughout Italy.

Bel canto composers were a prolific lot because of their reliance on a formulaic process. This suited audiences of the period well because they seemed to enjoy and encourage opera as pure entertainment without a great deal of complication. They were very content with music crafted for singers and singing that required no deep thought or involvement to enjoy. During this period Hector Berlioz was very critical of Italian audiences, stating that to Italians music was like a bowl of macaroni, to be consumed and enjoyed on the spot, like a sensual pleasure, not a worthy expression of the mind. Donizetti, like other composers of his day, knew what audiences wanted, and he turned out operas with astonishing rapidity.

Donizetti seemed to be challenged by the conditions under which he composed. The circumstances surrounding his opera, Elixir of Love, clearly demonstrate how exhilarated he was by short deadlines. In 1832 Donizetti was contacted by the manager of a theater in Milan who needed an opera for an opening which was scheduled in two weeks. The manager suggested rearranging something old and producing it as new, but Donizetti would have none of it. A new work it would be! He told the librettist, Felice Romani, that he had one week to provide a libretto and he himself would compose the music in the remaining week. All work was completed on schedule and the opera was a success at its opening, remaining so to this day.

In Naples in 1835 he produced the opera that would become one of the most popular of the nineteenth century, Lucia di Lammermoor. When it was composed it was considered the epitome of the Romantic ideal. Mad scenes were very popular with bel canto audiences, and Donizetti's were particularly admired. The Mad Scene from Lucia is considered to be the opera world's most famous.

Donizetti lost his beloved wife in a cholera epidemic in 1837 and never truly recovered from the shock. He moved to Paris the following year seeking greater prestige, fees and artistic freedom, and also traveled to Vienna in 1842 to accept a musical appointment to the Hapsburg court. He split his time between the two cities for three years but periods of poor health followed and in 1845 he suffered a stroke which resulted in a continuous deterioration of his mind. Three years later he died on April 7, 1848, in Bergamo, where he was being nursed by friends.