By kikigon
On Friday 8th of November, I watched L’elisir d’Amore (also called The Elixir of Love), a comic opera performed in two acts, created by the Italian composer Gaetano Donizzeti in the nineteenth century. It was the most often performed opera in Italy between 1838 and 1848.
The play showed the love triangle between the main characters. Nemorino, a young villager, was in love with the beautiful farm owner Adina. Unfortunately, he never knew how to get her attention; she was very indifferent and, apparently, she did not care about love at all. Hopeless, Nemorino went to see the travelling quack doctor, Dulcamara, to ask him for a love potion that could make Adina fall for him.
Things got worse when Sergeant Belcore arrived in town. He felt immediately attracted to Adina as well and asked the lady to marry him. Adina, to get revenge on Nemorino, accepted the proposal. Thenceforth, Nemorino had to try his best to clarify the situation and seduce the beautiful lady.
To my eyes, the whole play was completely addictive and heart-wringing. Furthermore, I felt really involved with the characters and the ending was very satisfying.
The setting was extraordinary. Although it was always the same background, the light fixture and additional ornamentation made it look flawless all the time. There were also some visual effects that helped a lot to create appropriate situations, for instance, the different times of the day.
The costumes of the cast were totally accurate with the era that the play was trying to represent. They presented beautiful dresses for the ladies and elegant or humble outfits for the men, depending on their characters, of course.
As for the music and the acting, I must admit I was massively impressed. I had never watched an opera before, but I had seen lots of plays. Nevertheless, this has been my favourite so far. The music was outstanding. Every time one of the cast members started to sing, I felt out of this world. They