The Elixir of Love

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The Elixir of Love “L’Elisir d’Amore” Italian opera buffa in two acts Music by Gaetano Donizetti Libretto by Felice Romani, based on Eugène Scribe’s libretto for Auber’s opera, Le Philtre (1831) Premiere: Teatro della Canobbina in Milan, May 1832

Adapted from the Opera Journeys Lecture Series by Burton D. Fisher

Story Synopsis Principal Characters in the Opera Story Narrative with Music Highlights Donizetti and The Elixir of Love

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Opera Journeys Mini Guide Series Published / © Copywritten by Opera Journeys www.operajourneys.com

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Story Synopsis On a farm in a small Italian village, harvesters and young women rest under trees while Adina, the proprietress of the farm, reads aloud the story of Tristan and Isolde; the legendary lovers who were inspired by a love potion. Nemorino, a young villager, has become lovesick while yearning for Adina’s love; she has completely ignored him, and seemingly prefers the dashing Belcore, the sergeant of the local garrison. “Doctor” Dulcamara arrives in the village; a charlatan who claims that his miraculous tonics cure all ills. He sells Nemorino an elixir, a “love” potion like Tristan’s, that will solve his “love” problems: he assures Nemorino that all the girls, including Adina, will fall in love with him within 24 hours; unbeknownst to Nemorino, the elixir he buys from Dulcamara is merely Bordeux wine. Nemorino, now bursting with confidence, envisions success with Adina. At first, he intentionally remains aloof and ignores her, provoking her anger. In revenge, Adina decides to punish Nemorino: she announces that she will marry Sergeant Belcore. Disconsolate, Nemorino begs Adina to wait 24 hours, enough time for Dulcamara’s elixir to take its effect, however, Adina is intransigent and refuses. Nemorino joins the army, using his enlistment money to buy another bottle of elixir from Dr. Dulcamara, that extra potion he needs to win Adina’s love. Afterwards, village girls overwhelm him with kindness: he thinks that the love potion has been successful, but he is unaware that they indulge him because they have learned that his uncle just died and left him a huge fortune. The attention given to Nemorino provokes Adina’s jealousy, causing her to realize that she indeed loves him; with or without his inheritance.

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Dr. Dulcamara tells Adina about Nemorino’s intrigue to win her love: she becomes overwhelmed, flattered, and realizes that she indeed loves Nemorino. Adina decides to use all of her wiles to win Nemorino’s love; first, she buys back his enlistment papers. The lovers reconcile their differences and excitedly prepare to celebrate their marriage. At the same time, the villagers, inspired by the success of Dulcamara’s potion, all purchase his elixir.

Principal Characters in the Opera Adina, a wealthy young woman Nemorino, a young peasant in love with Adina Beclore, a sergeant in the local garrison Dr. Dulcamara, a traveling quack medicine man Giannetta, a villager

Soprano Tenor Bass Bass Soprano

A landlord, notary, country folk, soldiers, and villagers. TIME: PLACE:

19th century a small village in Italy

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Story Narrative with Music Highlights Act I – Scene 1: Adina’s farm On a glorious summer day, surrounded by friends and harvesters, Adina reads aloud as she sits beneath the shade of a tree. From a distance, the lovesick Nemorino observes her with rapturous yearning: he praises her beauty, but is sad and heartbroken that she is spurns him. Nemorino: Quanto è bella

Adina is reading the romantic legend about Tristan and Isolde, Tristan winning the cruel Isolde’s love by means of a magical elixir, a potion that transformed them into passionate lovers: she romanticizes about the elixir, wishing that she too might become inspired by a love potion: Elisir di sì perfetta, di sì rara qualità, ne sapessi la ricetta, conoscessi chi ti fa, “An elixir so perfect and so rare, if you know the recipe, you know not what happens to you.” Adina: Della crudele Isotta

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Act I - Scene 2: The town’s marketplace. Drum rolls and martial music announce the arrival of soldiers, led by the dashing Sergeant Belcore: he praises Adina’s beauty and presents her with a bouquet of flowers, just as Paris gave the most beautiful woman an apple. Belcore: Come Paride vezzoso

Belcore brags about his gallantry, prompting Adina to scorn his vanity and immodesty. He urges Adina to surrender and marry him, but she dissuades him, advising him that she is in no hurry to marry. Nemorino overhears their conversation and turns to despair, horrified at the thought that Adina might marry someone else.

Act I – Scene 3: Nemorino fortifies his courage and renews his pursuit of Adina. However, she rejects him, telling him he is dull and boring, and that his craving for a capricious woman such as herself is a hopeless adventure: he should seek another, or better, leave the village and visit his sick uncle. Nevertheless, Nemorino is undaunted, and persists in proclaiming his love for her. Adina: Chiedi all’aura lusinghiera

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Act I – Scene IV: A plaza in the village. A great commotion, heralded by blaring trumpets, announces the arrival of the quack doctor, Dulcamara, ceremoniously appearing in a gold carriage and elegantly attired; the villagers believe he is royalty, lift their caps, and bow to him. Dulcamara stands before his gilded coach bearing various bottles, calling to the villagers and introducing his wares. Dulcamara: Udite, udite,

Dulcamara boasts about his renown and glory: he is the encyclopedic master of medicinal cures that possess mystical healing powers; his health remedies empty hospitals. Dulcamara displays written testimonials that attest to his wondrous potions: they end depression, eradicate wrinkles, end senility, rejuvenate fertility, dry the tears of widows who never smiled before, and cure every malady of humankind. As he extols the virtues and miraculous potency of his tonics, he urges the villagers to buy his low-priced medicines: the cure for all ills. Especially today, he offers the villagers a bargain: they can receive a complimentary sample of his “medicine” for the low price of one scudo. The villagers excitedly accept his offer, deeming his arrival, a cherished gift from heaven. Dulcamara: Così chiaro è come il sole

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Nemorino wonders if the “magic” doctor possesses an answer to his prayers. He inquires if Dulcamara has queen Isolde’s wonderful elixir of love: Dulcamara assures him that it is one of his most exclusive potions, and immediately produces a bottle of the coveted potion; unknown to Nemorino, it is merely a bottle of Bordeaux. Nemorino buys Dulcamara’s elixir with his last coin, blesses the good doctor, thanks him for his kindness, and exults in delight and anticipation of its results. Dulcamara specifically prescribes that in order for the elixir to be most effective, he must drink it quickly and without delay, vow silence, and tell no one about its special qualities: he assures Nemorino that fortune awaits him, and by tomorrow, all the women in the village will be yearning for his love. As soon as Dulcamara departs, Nemorino wastes no time: he drinks the entire bottle in one gulp. Immediately, he feels the flames of love in his heart: he becomes happy, confident, and begins to sing and dance. Adina approaches and is astonished to see her lovesick admirer so merry. Nemorino decides to avoid her, self-assured that tomorrow, when the elixir takes its full effect, Adina will love him with unbounded passion. Nevertheless, Adina is confounded and perplexed by Nemorino’s sudden change of personality, irritated that he avoids her. Nemorino: Esulti pur la barbara

Nemorino tells Adina that the reason for his sudden happiness is that he has broken the chains of love that have bound him: he has now

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freed himself from his uncontrollable obsession for her; he has forgotten her. Adina becomes piqued, feels spurned and rejected, and warns Nemorino that he can never escape the lure of her charms. Nevertheless, Nemorino is confident, assuring her that in just one more day, the tide will turn: it will be Adina who will be yearning for Nemorino. Sergeant Belcore arrives. Adina, enraged and dismayed by Nemorino’s inattentiveness and over-confidence, decides to teach him a lesson: she will evoke his jealousy by promising to wed Belcore in 3 days: Belcore is overjoyed. Nemorino feels scorned and begs Adina to delay; nevertheless, he remains confident that before they wed, his potion will begin to work, and he will win Adina back. Giannetta and village girls arrive, frantically looking for Sergeant Belcore and the soldiers. When Belcore arrives, he is given a letter containing secret orders from the captain: he and his men have been ordered to depart at dawn. Belcore advises Adina that because they must separate tomorrow, they should marry at once. Adina agrees, and again, Nemorino, waiting for his elixir to take effect, begs Adina to postpone their wedding at least one more day. Nemorino: Adina, credimi

Belcore hears the impassioned and presumably insane Nemorino pleading to Adina and becomes enraged: he believes that he is either a fool, crazy, or has been drinking. Belcore orders Nemorino out of his sight, but Adina urges compassion. Adina has awakened

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to realize that she is in a strange paradox: she should indeed adore Nemorino for his ardor, but she also wants to avenge his avoidance of her. Nevertheless, Adina urges all the villagers to join in the wedding celebration and festivities; at the same time, all the villagers mock Nemorino as the despairing lover prays for Doctor Dulcamar’s help. Act II: Interior of Adina’s farmhouse. The wedding-day festivities are in progress: Adina, Belcore, Dulcamara, and Giannetta, are seated at a banquet table; the regiment band plays while villagers drink and sing. All the guests toast the bride and groom: Belcore praising his gods - women and wine; and Adina laments that Nemorino is not present. Dulcamara offers a toast to the bride. Dulcamara: Io son ricco e tu sei bella

Belcore presents the notary and urges Adina inside to sign the marriage papers. Again, Adina laments that Nemorino is not present, realizing that she has created a dilemma for herself: she only planned to marry Belcore as a ruse to avenge Nemorino’s indifference to her. Nemorino, in total despair, pleads with Dr. Dulcamara: he needs the doctor’s help him to make someone love him immediately. Dulcamara assures Nemorino that all he needs is but one more bottle of his elixir; its magic prompting all the girls to fall at his feet. Nemorino is determined: he desperately needs the elixir, but he has no money.

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Beclore appears in bewilderment, unable to understand why Adina has just delayed their wedding until this evening. He notices Nemorino, and inquires why he is so sad. Nemorino reveals that it is because of money: he has none. Belcore suggests that he can solve his problem immediately: join the army, an enlistment for which he will pay him 20 scudi this instant. Belcore coaxes and cajoles the hesitating Nemorino with promises of pay, renown, and glory. Duet – Nemorino and Belcore: Ai perigli della guerra

Nemorino signs the enlistment papers, takes the money from Belcore, and runs off in search of Doctor Dulcamara, and, another bottle of his magic elixir. Giannetta and the peasant girls gossip about the latest news: Nemorino’s rich uncle died and has left him a fortune. The girls vow silence, each determined to play their own intrigue to win the newly wealthy Nemorino. Nemorino arrives: he has drunk the second bottle of Dulcamara’s elixir, and as the doctor promised, his heart is afire, and he awaits its promise that all the beautiful women will be falling at his feet. Suddenly, all the village girls surround him, bow before him, compliment his charms, and endear themselves to him. Dulcamara and Adina arrive, stunned when they observe Nemorino being wooed and courted by all the village girls. Nemorino thanks Dulcamara for the magic wonders of his elixir: he has become

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irresistible to all the girls, all of them fighting to dance with him. Adina turns to jealousy and rage: she thought that her plan to marry Belcore would turn Nemorino to misery, but on the contrary, she now finds him gaily celebrating with the village girls. As Adina approaches Nemorino, he becomes convinced that the magic potion is working, and that Adina now yearns for him. Strangely, Adina has a sudden revelation, and realizes that her emotions are taking revenge on her: she is indeed seeking Nemorino’s love. Dulcamara observes the lovers and exults in the success of his elixir. Adina and Dulcamara are alone. Dulcamara tells Adina that her love has been aroused because his elixir has prepared Nemorino; just like Isolda’s love potion. Dulcamara reveals that he sold his special elixir to Nemorino because the young love-sick boy told him that he needed help to woo a woman whom he loved passionately. Adina realizes that she was the object of Nemorino’s passion. Adina concedes that she was foolish: she was insensitive to Nemorino, and betrayed the nobility in his heart. She realizes that she truly loves Nemorino, but now, she is afraid he will choose one of the other village girls. Dulcamara, noticing that Adina appears to be lovelorn, offers her his elixir, the panacea to resolve her woes. But Adina rejects Dulcamara’s elixir: she will use her wiles and determination to capture Nemorino’s love; a few caressing glances, a smile, and a tender touch. Adina: Una tenera occhiatina

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Nemorino appears, and notices that Adina is in tears: he muses that perhaps his extravagant behavior with the village girls might have aroused her jealousy and saddened her. Nevertheless, her tears are proof that she loves him, and he is determined to comfort her. Nemorino: Una furtiva lagrima

Nemorino advises Adina that all the girls want him for a husband, but he is undecided. Adina, now aware of why Nemorino joined the army, tells him that she has bought his soldiers’ contract: she returns the enlistment papers to him, surprising him by revealing that it was her act of love for him: she wants him to stay in the village. Adina: Prendi, prendi, per me sei libero

Misunderstandings are reconciled. Adina admits to Nemorino that she truly loves him, and Nemorino swears he will never be cruel to her again: both vow eternal love to each other. Belcore arrives to find his bride in the embrace of his rival: Adina announces that Nemorino is to become her bridegroom. Belcore considers the situation and comments with his customary soldierly philosophy, “There are other women.” Dulcamara, recognizing a potential client, asks Belcore if he would like to try some of his elixir, the magical “Elixir of Love.”

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Nemorino thanks Dulcamara for his help. Dulcamara announces that Nemorino has become the wealthiest person in the village, the heir to a fortune after his uncle’s death: Dulcamara boasts that his miraculous elixir not only cures the problems of lovers, but also enriches those who need it. Dulcamara receives full credit for the lovers’ reconciliation. The villagers, recognizing the power of his potions, offer their wages in return for bottles of his wonderful elixir of love.

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Donizetti…………….. and The Elixir of Love

G

aetano Donizetti was born in Bergamo, Italy, in 1797: he died in 1848 at the age of 51. Donizetti, together with his contemporaries, Rossini, Bellini, Mercadante, and Pacini, were the Italian bel canto composers who dominated opera during the first half of the nineteenth century; their style of bel canto, literally “beautiful” or “fine” singing, emphasized clear melodic lines embellished with abundant musical decoration and ornamentation. At an early age, despite his family’s ambition for him to pursue a legal career, Donizetti turned to music. His exceptional talents earned him a scholarship to study under the supervision of one of the leading opera composers of his day, Simon Mayr. Mayr became Donizetti’s mentor, the man who recognized his musical gifts, trained him diligently in composition, theory, and harmony, and encouraged him to compose operas. Throughout Donizetti’s entire life, he expressed his devotion and appreciation to Mayr, referring to him as his “second father.” At seventeen, at the instigation of Mayr, the budding young opera composer undertook more advanced music studies at the Bologna Conservatory. Four year later, his first opera, Enrico di Borgogna (1818), earned appreciable praise for its originality, and served to stimulate him forward toward opera composition. In the 1830s, after an astonishing series of triumphs, he moved to Paris, then the recognized center of the opera world, where his many successes prompted Berlioz to pen the rather envious quip: “One can no longer speak of the opera houses of Paris but only of the opera houses of M. Donizetti.” During his lifetime, Donizetti eventually composed sixty-nine operas, a commanding

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legacy which undeniably establishes him as one of the foremost composers of 19 th century opera.

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n 1818, when Donizetti began his career, Gioacchino Rossini’s operas were the rage of audiences. Rossini was the primary architect and major influence for contemporary opera: he revitalized, refashioned, and established all the structural guidelines for the opera buffa (comic) and opera seria (serious) styles; to assure success, all composers obediently conformed to Rossini’s rigid formulae and florid styles. Donizetti possessed unique resources and capabilities, composing prolifically, like Rossini, in both the comic and serious opera genres. He exhibited an extraordinary dramatic insight, was a fluent technician, a skillful craftsman, and manifested a fertile melodic inventiveness: his music is noted for its eminent melodic beauty, its exquisite vocal lines, and simple but skillful orchestration. Donizetti’s best comic operas are marked with a dashing spontaneity, verve, and gaiety, all integrated with a masterful mix of tenderness and pathos. His sentimental, syrupy comedy, L’Elisir d’Amore (1832), just like Rossini’s The Barber of Seville (1816), is considered a classic of the opera buffa genre. Likewise, La Fille du Régiment, “The Daughter of the Regiment” (1840), and Don Pasquale (1843) are considered masterpieces of the genre, the latter, one of the finest comic operas that possesses an almost Mozartian adroitness in its musical characterizations. Donizetti’s serious or tragic operas have powerful passion and swift dramatic action: Anna Bolena (1830); Lucrezia Borgia (1833); Roberto Devereaux (1837); La Favorite (1840), a grand work of Gallic elegance considered his finest serious French opera; and

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Lucia di Lammermoor (1835), to many, the archetype of early Italian Romantic opera. Donizetti composed an astounding number of operas in a brief but obviously prodigious career. It is rumored that he was a master of musical file maintenance: he supposedly kept a neatly organized index of unused musical material, as well as scraps and brief sketches of pieces that were not fully developed; for Donizetti, it was a sacrilege to let an unused note go astray. But within this panorama of voluminous operatic output, there exists an entire range of musical criticism: there are some operas that are considered great, some good, and some bad and even ugly; those considered trite and superficial have long been forgotten. Donizetti’s compositional muse worked swiftly: L’Elisir d’Amore apparently premiered 2 weeks after he received its commission; and in Lucia, Edgardo’s final aria, Tu che a Dio spiegasti d’ali, was admittedly composed in 1/2 hour during moments of respite when the composer was nursing a headache while playing cards with friends. Lucia di Lammermoor itself was supposedly composed in 36 days Nevertheless, Donizetti left a robust legacy of bel canto masterpieces, many of which, after a period of neglect and critical disdain, have re-emerged and become prominent fixtures in the repertories of contemporary major opera companies.

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n Italian opera, during the primo ottocento, or first half of the 19th century, Rossini was the primary architect of the era’s bel canto opera style, the model for Donizetti until he developed his own specific signature. In the bel canto genre, opera was a vehicle for singers to demonstrate feats of vocal virtuosity rather a theatrical venue for “sung drama.”The art of singing was the priority in

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the art form, so dramatic conflicts and tensions, and the underlying literary values of the librettos became secondary elements: the dramas rarely bore any organic relationship or integration with their underlying music. In retrospect, many of those librettos are considered humdrum and hackneyed, even though many were written by extremely talented and original craftsmen. Bel canto opera’s internal structure featured “numbers” or “set pieces” (arias, duets, trios, ensembles) that were integrated with recitative, all composed within existing standard conventions and formulae: cavatinas (a simple, short aria), cabalettas (a brisk last section of an aria), strettas (a speeding up to create climax), and by design, rather than technical limitations, an orchestra that was reduced to its utmost simplicity, playing the role of accompanist. Bel canto focused specifically on the voice and the melodic line: it demanded singing with beauty, elegance, flexibility, an assured technique, and a certain degree of bravura and vocal acrobatics. Often the designations bel canto and coloratura – and even fioritura, are synonymous terms used interchangeably, but primarily, they all define an elaborate and brilliant ornamentation of the vocal line. The voice and the singer’s virtuosity and vocal fireworks became the preeminent features of the bel canto art form. Consequentially, melody dominated, and by necessity, the orchestra generally became subdued when the singer was singing, regardless of internal dramatic conflicts. With singer’s dominating the art form, composers were dutifully obliged to cater to their vocal superstars: in effect, the singers became the composer ’s austere clients. In order to guarantee achieving an immediate success with audiences, composers often wrote their operas for renowned contemporary virtuoso singers,

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dutifully and conscientiously modifying elements of their music to suit the singer’s whims and technical capabilities. In general, the dramatic intensity of many bel canto librettos receives minor praise from our modern music-drama centered audiences. But in the bel canto tradition, the inherent drama of the work was created specifically though vocal technique and inflection, its dramatic effects expressed through vocal inflections: therefore, drama in coloratura passages is achieved through its dynamics in which the vocal line can be bent, flexed, stretched, speeded up, or slowed down. In general, the intrigue of bel canto opera is dependent upon its inherent vocal fireworks: when performed intelligently, bel canto provides dramatic poignancy, eloquence, and intense passion. The inherent freshness of the underlying music of bel canto operas has compelled many opera-goers to overlook those occasionally weak librettos. Contemporary champions of the bel canto tradition have proven that there is indeed more drama in those works than had ever been suspected. Certainly, the historical bel canto art form is very much alive in contemporary repertories, proven by the extraordinary successes of recent superstars of the genre: Maria Callas, Alfredo Kraus, Marilyn Horne, Joan Sutherland, and currently, Cecilia Bartoli, and Jeniffer Larmore. Those great 19th century masters of bel canto, Rossini, Bellini, and Donizetti, left a legacy of some 150 operas: the preeminence of their works on our contemporary opera stages remains proof that the bel canto art form is not only captivating, but a classic genre that is capable of continuous rejuvenation.

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n 1832, after the triumphant successs of Anna Bolena (1830) and Ugo, Conte di Parigi (1832), Donizetti had established his

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artistic maturity, emerging with his own personality and musical signature: he was now in the vanguard of European opera composers. The Canobbina theater in Milan offered Donizetti a commission for a new opera, but he had difficulty finding a subject. He called upon Felice Romani, one of the most eagerly sought-after librettists who was renowned for his reliable verses and high literary standards, a writer who insisted that in opera, words were equally as important as the music. In his 25year career, Romani wrote over 80 opera texts, becoming an invaluable collaborator whose literary ingenuity stimulated some of the finest works in Italian Romantic opera; his most recent, Bellini’s La Sonnambula (1831) and Norma (1831); Romani offered to translate and modify Le Philtre, a French opéra comique, or French comedy, that Eugène Scribe wrote for DanielFrançois Auber’s opera which had premiered in Paris in May, 1831, some eleven months before Donizetti’s opera bowed in Milan. Ultimately, Romani’s libretto was little more than an Italian translation of Scribe’s French libretto. L’Elisir d’Amore became a sensational success, reputedly the most frequently performed opera in Europe between 1838 and 1848: it was produced in Berlin as Der Liebestrank (1834), “The Love Potion,” and a year later, in Vienna, in Italian, remaining a staple on German-language stages for many years.

A

uber’s Le Philtre, and Donizetti’s L’Elisir d”Amore version, are based on the historic commedia dell’arte tradition, literally, “Comedy of Masks.” The genre was a blend of situation comedy, slapstick, and satire involving a world of extravagant characters: zanies, lovers, pedants, scoundrels, and fools.

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The commedia dell’arte evolved from groups of itinerant players, spreading throughout Europe and achieving overwhelming popularity during the Renaissance. Satire and irony were the defining elements of the genre: players clowned, ridiculed, and insulted every aspect of society and its institutions with frivolous characterizations of cunning servants, scheming doctors, duped masters, and heartless mistresses. The art form originated outdoors, performed in streets and market places: the actors traditionally wore exaggerated and comical costumes in order to draw attention to themselves and donned masks to conceal their identity as a protection against punishment. In Italy, commedia dell’arte characters became affectionately known as zanni, “zany,” an apt description of their silliness and clowning buffoonery. The commedia dell’arte and the Intermezzi, the latter performed between acts of dramas, were enormous influences on the development of opera buffa, the populist genre of comic opera. The first great opera buffa was Pergolesi’s La Serva Padrona, “The MaidMistress,” (1733): a story about a crafty maidservant who tricks her master into marriage, achieving her success with the help of another servant who dresses up as a firebreathing military man to intimidate her prey. The most acclaimed commedia dell’arteinspired opera buffas were Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro, “The Marriage of Figaro” (1786), and Rossini’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia, “The Barber of Seville” (1816). Before the advent of the opera buffa, opera stories portrayed serious themes: the opera seria defined the style of serious Italian operas whose subjects dealt primarily with mythology, history, and Greek tragedy, the music drama usually portraying an heroic or tragic conflict

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that typically involved a moral dilemma, such as love vs. duty, and usually resolved happily with due reward for rectitude, loyalty, and unselfishness. These operas were usually grandiose and elaborate productions, their cardboard-style characters rigid and pretentious, and their scores saturated with florid da capo arias, few ensembles, and almost no chorus. Art expresses the soul and spirit of its times. Opera buffa provided an appropriate artistic vehicle to express Enlightenment democratic ideals, its underlying stories becoming an operatic incarnation of political and social populism. The aristocracy identified, and even became flattered by opera seria’s exalted gods and noble heroes, but in contrast, opera buffa provided satire and humor; a portrayal of very human characters in everyday situations, as well as parodies about class distinctions, and the frustrations of society’s lower classes in their struggle for social justice. Eighteenth and early nineteenth century opera buffa became the operatic manifestation of the spirit of the Enlightenment. To portray satire, irony, and parody, opera buffa adopted the most prominent characteristics of classic commedia dell’arte personalities, providing them with a variety of new masks: Harlequin, Columbine, and Pulchinello, were transformed into the opera buffa. Mozart’s Figaro and Rossini’s Barber were based on works by the French playwright, Pierre Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais, each opera containing a pastiche of classic commedia dell’arte archetypes, the many faces and foibles of humanity: Figaro, the cunning and resourceful valet; the babbling and lecherous Dr. Bartolo; the sly Don Basilio; the scheming Almaviva; and the resourceful Susanna and Rosina.

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Opera buffa adapted these commedia dell’arte characters with unabashed zeal, changing their names, but magnifying their faults and peccadilloes. The Elixir of Love’s cast of characters is loosely based on archetypal commedia dell’arte antecedents: Adina, like the classic Columbine, is a capricious and coquettish romantic young woman; Nemorino, like Harlequin, is a seemingly foolish provincial love-sick lad; and the arrogant Sergeant Belcore and the quack master of deception, Dr. Dulcamara, bear similarities to Pulchinello. Early opera buffa dealt with farcical situations within the interplay of social upheavals that preceded the French Revolution. However, The Elixir of Love is a 19th century work, a post-Enlightenment, Romantic era work: therefore, its underlying message is less concerned with social and political conflicts and tensions, but rather, with sentiment, sensitivity, and nuance; the essence of the Romantic spirit. Adina is a new type of woman whose personality began to flower in the Romantic era: she is strong-willed, determined, and presumably a woman with considerable wealth; a soul-sister to Norina in Donizetti’s Don Pasquale (1843). Adina is a young woman with love on her mind, and unafraid to reveal her sensibilities: she reads romantic literature like the legend of Tristan and Isolde, inspiring her to find true love – and a husband. The Elixir story chronicles Adina’s growth, maturity, and the development of her sensitivities: she transforms from a childish coquette who is initially flirtatiousness, fickle, and capricious, into a woman who discovers the essence of love; a transformation portrayed with gaiety, wit, and spirit. Nemorino is a simple country boy in love with Adina: his single-mindedness causes him

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to become the victim of foolishness, but he is neither buffoon nor village idiot. Nemorino is sincere in his convictions, determined to win Adina’s love, but naïve as to how it can be attained. Belcore is an archetypal commedia dell’artopera buffa character: he is handsome, blustering, and in the most extravagant terms, continuously boasting about his military and extra-military romantic adventures: he twirls his moustache and brandishes his ludicrously oversized sword with vulgarity and vanity; he believes he has tempted and conquered Adina, but in the end, becomes nothing more than her comic foil. Dr. Dulcamara, through his elixir, provides the engine that drives the story: he is another character from classic comedy, the jolly quack and flim-flam man always spouting nonsense. Dulcamara in Italian literally means “bittersweet”: he is indeed a blend of pleasantness marked by elements of suffering or regret, a soul brother to Dr. Bartolo, who comically provides the good vs. evil paradoxes in the story.

T

he Elixir of Love’s story provides comedy, sentimentality, and genuine pathos. Donizetti’s incredibly expressive range of ingenious musical inventions provide a fine chiaroscuro: there are contrasts of happiness and sadness, but the sad moments, although poignant, are never heartless and cruel; its touches of humor, satire, parody, and even slapstick, are delightfully combined with touches of joy as well as sadness. The love-sick Nemorino’s opening aria as he views Adina, Quanto è bella!, is saturated with rapturous yearning and passion: Adina’s commentary on Tristan and Isolde possesses an equal sense of emotion and desire, Della

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crudele Isotta; Belcore’s march-like entrance, Come Paride vezzoso, provides a magnificent transition; and Dulcamara’s spectacular appearance and soap-box call for attention, Udite, Udite, is full of commedia dell’arteopera buffa humor. Nemorino’s Adina, credimi, and Una furtiva lagrima, followed by Adina’s Prendi, per me sei libero, are genuine moments of heartfelt tenderness, and when blended with the comic elements in the opera, endow the work with its truly human soul. The aria, Una furtiva lagrima, supposedly dashed off by Donizetti in an hour, is the focal point of the entire score: it has become a chestnut for every tenor voice. It is a romanza, a romantic song: it is song about tears, but it is not a sad song. Nemorino has just learned that Adina indeed bears strong feelings for him: Dulcamara has duly noticed and advised his client; Essa pure è inamorata, “She is truly in love.” Nemorino has returned to the village, fully imbibed with his love potion and reveling in its success: he finds all the village girls obsessed to seduce him, and he also sees Adina in tears. Nemorino cares not about the village girls: he only cares Adina, and as he has just learned, she reciprocates his love; Dulcamara’s elixir has worked. Nemorino’s words in the aria are poignant: Una furtiva lagrima negl’occhi suoi spuntò, quelle festose giovanni invidiar sembrò, “A furtive tear welled in her eyes when she saw the others she seemed envious.” He continues: Che più cercando io vo?….M’ama, sì, m’ama, io vedo, io vedo, “What more can I wish? She loves me, I see it,” and finally, Un solo istante I palpiti, “If for one moment I could feel her heartbeat,” Cielo, si può morir, “Heaven, I then could die.” Una furtiva lagrima does not reflect Nemorino’s tears, but his love and compassion, his sadness at seeing Adina in tears. The aria is

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his victory song: he is overcome with joy because finally, the woman he loves, his inamorata, reciprocates his love. Nemorino can hardly believe his own good fortune at having won Adina’s love: it is a moment of heroic victory, a moment for an instinctive response of Bravo Nemorino. Cinderella, the good-hearted but abused and humiliated fairy-tale young woman is rescued by her prince and lives happily ever after. The Elixir of Love’s story is about Nemorino, a “male Cinderella.” He is, like his female counterpart, kind, gentle, tender, and warmhearted: he becomes the victor, his reward for his singleness of purpose, in spite of potions and unforeseen inheritances. The Elixir of Love is a warm and human story, a sentimental story with amiable humor that narrates man’s obsessive aspiration: love.

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