The Elixir of Love

Jonathan Miller transforms Donizetti’s rustic Italian setting into one of pure Americana: a 1950s diner straight out of an Edward Hopper painting. Ford Fairlanes, soda jerks, and pompadours abound amid sets that Opera News calls “brilliant.” It’s all part of Miller’s ingenious way of, as he puts it, “dislocating things slightly so that people look at a work anew.”

Donizetti pours on the melody as humble Nemorino and uppity Adina put each other through hell to find out they’re a match made in heaven. The opera’s best-known aria, “Una furtiva lagrima,” is a heart-melting island of calm amid all the daredevil coloratura, wacky patter, swaggering machismo, and rollicking rhythms.

Sung in Italian with English supertitles
This production of L’elisir d’amore was originally created for the Royal Swedish Opera, Stockholm, Sweden.