Opera Scotland

Elixir of Love L'Elisir d'Amore; The Love Potion

Tours by decade

1830s - 1 tour

1840s - 1 tour

1849 - Italian Operatic Company
Fully Staged with Orchestra

1850s - 1 tour

1854 - Mr Wood's Edinburgh Italian Opera
Fully Staged with Orchestra

1890s - 2 tours

1892 - Carl Rosa Opera Company
Fully Staged with Orchestra
1893 - Carl Rosa Opera Company
Fully Staged with Orchestra

1930s - 1 tour

1935 - Carl Rosa Opera Company
Fully Staged with Orchestra

1950s - 2 tours

1954 - Iskoldoff Italian Opera Company
Fully Staged with Orchestra
1957 - Teatro alla Scala, Milan (Piccola Scala)
Fully Staged with Orchestra

1980s - 1 tour

1984 - Scottish Opera
Fully Staged with Orchestra

1990s - 1 tour

1994 - Scottish Opera
Fully Staged with Orchestra

2000s - 8 tours

2000 - Scottish Opera
Fully Staged with Orchestra
2007 - Tayside Opera
Fully Staged with Orchestra
2008 - Opera East Lothian
Concert performance
2009 - Scottish Opera
Fully Staged with Orchestra
2009 - Scottish Opera
Pre-show Talk
2009 - Scottish Opera
Audio Description & Touch Tour
2009 - Scottish Opera
Opera Unwrapped
2009 - University of Glasgow | Department of Adult & Continuing Education
Lecture with Illustrations

2010s - 7 tours

2010 - Glyndebourne Festival Opera
Cinema Screening
2011 - Haddo House Choral & Operatic Society
Fully Staged with Orchestra
2012 - Metropolitan Opera
Cinema Screening
2013 - Tayside Opera
Concert performance
2015 - Opera East Lothian
Concert performance
2015 - Edinburgh Grand Opera
Fully Staged with Orchestra
2016 - Scottish Opera
Fully Staged, reduced orchestration

2020s - 2 tours

2023 - Tayside Opera
Fully Staged with Orchestra
2023 - Diva Opera
Fully Staged, reduced orchestration

Tours by location

Scotland, UK - 77 entries

1838 - Mr Mitchell's Italian Opera Buffa Company
Edinburgh
1849 - Italian Operatic Company
Edinburgh
1849 - Italian Operatic Company
Glasgow
1854 - Mr Wood's Edinburgh Italian Opera
Edinburgh
1854 - Mr Wood's Edinburgh Italian Opera
Glasgow
1892 - Carl Rosa Opera Company
Glasgow
1893 - Carl Rosa Opera Company
Glasgow
1893 - Carl Rosa Opera Company
Edinburgh
1935 - Carl Rosa Opera Company
Edinburgh
1935 - Carl Rosa Opera Company
Glasgow
1954 - Iskoldoff Italian Opera Company
Glasgow
1954 - Iskoldoff Italian Opera Company
Aberdeen
1954 - Iskoldoff Italian Opera Company
Edinburgh
1957 - Teatro alla Scala, Milan (Piccola Scala)
Edinburgh
1984 - Scottish Opera
Glasgow
1984 - Scottish Opera
Edinburgh
1994 - Scottish Opera
Glasgow
1994 - Scottish Opera
Aberdeen
1994 - Scottish Opera
Inverness
1994 - Scottish Opera
Edinburgh
2000 - Scottish Opera
Glasgow
2000 - Scottish Opera
Aberdeen
2000 - Scottish Opera
Inverness
2000 - Scottish Opera
Edinburgh
2007 - Tayside Opera
Dundee
2009 - Scottish Opera
Glasgow
2009 - Scottish Opera
Glasgow
2009 - University of Glasgow | Department of Adult & Continuing Education
Glasgow
2009 - Scottish Opera
Glasgow
2009 - Scottish Opera
Glasgow
2009 - Scottish Opera
Inverness
2009 - Scottish Opera
Inverness
2009 - Scottish Opera
Inverness
2009 - Scottish Opera
Inverness
2009 - Scottish Opera
Aberdeen
2009 - Scottish Opera
Aberdeen
2009 - Scottish Opera
Aberdeen
2009 - Scottish Opera
Aberdeen
2009 - Scottish Opera
Edinburgh
2009 - Scottish Opera
Edinburgh
2009 - Scottish Opera
Edinburgh
2009 - Scottish Opera
Edinburgh
2010 - Glyndebourne Festival Opera
Dundee
2010 - Glyndebourne Festival Opera
Falkirk
2010 - Glyndebourne Festival Opera
Glasgow
2011 - Haddo House Choral & Operatic Society
Ellon, Aberdeenshire
2012 - Metropolitan Opera
Dundee
2012 - Metropolitan Opera
Glasgow
2012 - Metropolitan Opera
Edinburgh
2012 - Metropolitan Opera
Galashiels
2012 - Metropolitan Opera
Perth
2012 - Metropolitan Opera
Falkirk
2012 - Metropolitan Opera
Aberdeen
2013 - Tayside Opera
Perth
2013 - Tayside Opera
Brechin, Angus
2013 - Tayside Opera
Dundee
2015 - Edinburgh Grand Opera
Edinburgh
2015 - Opera East Lothian
North Berwick
2016 - Scottish Opera
Motherwell
2016 - Scottish Opera
Stirling
2016 - Scottish Opera
Elgin, Moray
2016 - Scottish Opera
Ullapool
2016 - Scottish Opera
Stornoway, Lewis
2016 - Scottish Opera
Thurso, Caithness
2016 - Scottish Opera
Drumnadrochit, Inverness-shire
2016 - Scottish Opera
Ellon, Aberdeenshire
2016 - Scottish Opera
Langholm
2016 - Scottish Opera
Newton Stewart
2016 - Scottish Opera
Kilmarnock
2016 - Scottish Opera
Oban, Argyll
2016 - Scottish Opera
St Andrews
2016 - Scottish Opera
Perth
2016 - Scottish Opera
Galashiels
2016 - Scottish Opera
Musselburgh, East Lothian
2023 - Diva Opera
St Andrews
2023 - Tayside Opera
Brechin, Angus
2023 - Tayside Opera
Dundee

England, UK - 3 entries

1984 - Scottish Opera
Newcastle-upon-Tyne
1984 - Scottish Opera
Liverpool
1994 - Scottish Opera
Newcastle-upon-Tyne

Music
Gaetano Donizetti (born Bergamo, 29 November 1797; died Bergamo, 8 April 1848)

Text
Felice Romani.

Source
French opera text Le philtre (1831) by Eugene Scribe, not in itself original.

Premières
First performance: Milan (Teatro della Canobbiana), 12 May 1832.
First UK performance: London (Lyceum Theatre), 10 December 1836.
First performance in Scotland: Edinburgh (Theatre Royal) 11 May 1838
Scottish Opera première: To be confirmed.

Background
Donizetti came from a poor background but his musical talent was recognised early. While Rossini was still active, until 1829, Donizetti maintained a busy career touring Italy as a jobbing opera composer. His first international success came in 1830 with Anna Bolena, by which time he had composed nearly half his output of around seventy works. His operas were mostly romantic tragedies, but he had great success with a small number of comic pieces. L’elisir d’amore has a winning combination of humour and sentiment, and Nemorino is a part which tenors have always loved to perform.

By the end of the 19th century he had fallen out of fashion, and L’elisir was one of a handful of works to receive occasional revivals. In the last fifty years his genius has begun to be recognised. Those pieces which had survived grudgingly are now played complete instead of with the large cuts which had become common and made it impossible to appreciate his skill. Many of his operas are now performed regularly.

Characters
Nemorino, a young peasant farmer (tenor)
Adina, a wealthy landowner (soprano)
Belcore, a recruiting sergeant (baritone)
Dulcamara, a travelling salesman (bass)
Giannetta, a village girl (soprano)

Plot Summary
The setting is a farming community in the early 19th century, showing the chaos caused by the arrival of two incomers, a travelling “quack” selling medicines of dubious quality, and an army platoon led by a sergeant on the lookout for recruits.

Nemorino loves Adina, but is ignored by her. He overhears her reading aloud the story of Tristan and Isolda, which she thinks is silly. However when Dulcamara arrives Nemorino is easily persuaded to buy a bottle of wine mis-sold as a love potion. Not understanding that Adina has to drink it in order for it to have effect, he is disappointed by the result, and drinks it all himself.

Meanwhile Belcore and his army platoon arrive, and he succeeds in courting Adina. Nemorino enlists in despair. Adina finally realises she loves him when she sees the village girls fawning on him. They have heard that his uncle has died and that Nemorino is now wealthy. Adina persuades Belcore to release Nemorino from his contract and all ends happily as Belcore and Dulcamara move on to pastures new.

The Cast

Adina
 a wealthy farm owner
Belcore
 a sergeant
Dulcamara
 a quack doctor
Giannetta
 a peasant girl
Nemorino
 a young peasant

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