Scene from Opéra de Monte-Carlo’s production of Donizetti’s ‘L’elisir d’amore’ © Opéra de Monte-Carlo
From Opéra de Monte-Carlo’s tribute to Puccini last month comes one of Gaetano Donizetti’s relatively few comedy operas, L’elisir d’amore (The Elixir of Love), a heartwarming tale of the – initially – unrequited love of a poor peasant, Nemorino, for a beautiful landowner, Adina. Starring tenor Vittorio Grigolo as Nemorino, and soprano Francesca Pia Vitale as Adina, this production from Opéra de Lausanne is led by Gianluca Capuano and directed by Adriano Sinivia, director of the performances of L’elisir d’amore at Opéra de Lausanne, Chorégies d’Orange and Opéra National de Bordeaux.
L’elisir d’amore, in two acts, is set in an Italian village in the early 19th century, and was composed by Donizetti in six weeks during 1832. Commissioned by Teatro della Canobbiana in Milan, it has a libretto by Felice Romani, after a French libretto written by Eugène Scribe for Daniel-François-Esprit Auber’s Le Philtre, which was written in 1831. The opera premiered at the Teatro alla Canobbiana, in Milan on May 12, 1832.
Scene from ‘L’elisir d’amore’ © Opéra de Monte-Carlo
The story tells of Nemorino’s admiration of Adina, but she is attracted to Sergeant Belcore and treats Nemorino with a certain amount of disdain. When Nemorino sees Adina reading about the potion which seals the love of Tristan and Isolde, he resolves to go in search of this love potion in the hope that it will make him irresistible to Adina. The travelling quack Doctor Dulcamara, sees his opportunity and sells Nemorino an inexpensive bottle of Bordeaux, assuring him that it will do the trick. In the meantime, Gianetta, a peasant girl, tells the village girls that Nemorino’s uncle has died and left him a fortune, so suddenly Nemorino finds himself the centre of attraction. Adina prepares for her marriage to Belcore, but realises that Nemorino’s love is sincere, and seeing the tear on her cheek, (Una furtiva lagrima), he realises that she loves him after all, and the tale moves to a happy ending for everyone.
Italian soprano Francesca Pia Vitale – who has stepped in for Regula Mühlemann – makes her debut with Opéra de Monte-Carlo. Regarded as one of today’s rising stars of opera, she has most recently appeared as Silandra in Cesti’s Orontes and Sophie in Massenet’s Werther at Teatro alla Scala, Musetta in Puccini’s La bohème at Opéra National de Bordeaux and Fondazione Petruzzelli, and as Norina in Donizetti’s Don Pasquale at Teatro Regio di Torino. Highlights of 2025 include the roles of Gilda in Verdi’s Rigoletto at Staatsoper Hannover and at Teatro alla Scala, and Epitide in Terradellas’ La Merope at Gran Theatre del Liceu, Teatro Real de Madrid, Staatsoper Unter den Linden in Berlin and at Music Theater an her Wien.
Charismatic, multi-award-winning tenor Vittorio Grigolo has been described by The New York Times as having “… one of the healthiest and most versatile voices in opera, boasting a rare combination of power and beauty.” While one of his most famous roles is that of Rodolfo in Puccini’s La bohème, other Puccini operas include Tosca and Madama Butterfly. He has recently appeared in Hommage à Sinatra at Opéra de Monte-Carlo, and highlights of his 2025 season include the roles of Cavaradossi in Puccini’s Tosca at State Opera Berlin, Faust in Berlioz’ Le Damnation de Faust at Royal Opera of Wallonia and as Manrico in Verdi’s Il trovatore at Vienna State Opera.
Vittorio Grigolo and Nicola Alaimo in Donizetti’s ‘L’elisir d’amore’ © Opéra de Monte-Carlo
Baritone Davide Luciano, who takes the role of Belcore, has during the 2023-24 season appeared at the Vienna State Opera as Figaro in Rossini’s Il barbiere di Siviglia, Count Almaviva in Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro at Royal Opera Wallonia, Sharpless in Puccini’s Madama Butterfly at the Metropolitan Opera and in the title role of Don Giovanni at Deutsche Oper Berlin. This season he will appear in a semi-staged version of Mozart’s Don Giovanni at Opéra de Monte-Carlo, Belcore at Teatro Regional di Torino and Vienna State Opera, and Figaro in Rossini’s Il barbiere di Siviglia at Teatro Regional di Parma.
Scene from Opéra de Monte-Carlo’s production of Donizetti’s ‘L’elisir d’amore’ © Opéra de Monte-Carlo
Nicola Alaimo – Doctor Dulcamara – performs at some of the greatest operatic international venues, and has recently appeared in the title role in a concert version of Donizetti’s Don Pasquale with the PKF Prague Philharmonia, as Giorgio Germont in Verdi’s La traviata at Teatro La Fenice and Sharpless in Puccini’s Madama Butterfly at Fondazione del Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino. Future highlights include the role of Jago in Verdi’s Otello at Teatro Massimo di Palermo, the title role in Rossini’s Guillame Tell at Royal Opera of Wallonia and Don Bartolo in Rossini’s Il barbiere di Siviglia at the Metropolitan Opera.
Gianluca Capuano, since 2019 the Principal Conductor of Les Musiciens du Prince-Monaco, leads the ensemble and the Choir of the Opéra de Monte-Carlo (Director Stefano Visconti) in five performances of Donizetti’s L’elisir d’amore at the Opéra de Monte-Carlo between December 20 and 31. Further details and reservations can be found on the Opéra de Monte-Carlo website.
The performance on December 31, L’Opéra en fête, takes the form of a special evening to ring in the New Year. A performance of L’elisir d’amore is followed by a reception of music, fine dining and festivity in the Hauser & Wirth gallery, in the company of the artists of the production. Reservations can be made online or by phone 00377 92 00 13 70.
Information sourced from:
Opéra Monte-Carlo programme notes
Operabase
Artists’ websites
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