Elisir d'amore 2023Diva Opera
Read more about the opera Elixir of Love
Diva Opera were established in 1997 and have been touring widely - earlier this year they visited South Africa, and this summer includes tours in England and France as well as a visit to Jersey. The company is still directed by the founders, Anne Marabini Young and Bryan Evans.
These two performances, Verdi's great tragedy Rigoletto and Donizetti's delightful comedy The Elixir of Love, were their only Scottish appearances.
Donizetti's comic masterpiece has long been one of the most popular of operatic works. In Scotland that success dates only from the 1957 Edinburgh Festival visit by the company from La Scala, when Giuseppe di Srefano's ovation after 'Una furtiva lagrima' lasted several minutes.
The programme illustration indicated that Dulcamara hds revised the formula for his love potion so that it was now 100% organic. Whatever next?
The singers joining Giannetta in the chorus were soprano Leilani Barratt, mezzo Stephanie Windsor-Lewis, tenor Richard Symons, baritone Theo Perry, and bsss Julian Dubreuil. With the previous night's Gilda and Maddalena among them a good sound was expected and the direction produced a lot of enjoyable detail. Giannetta's revelation of the news of Nemorino's new wealth actually worked better with two friends than when she has the entire chorus to discuss it with. The three men needed to be good at quick changes, as they alternated as members of the peasantry and Belcore's squaddies in uniform. Both groups displayed faultless timing and clearly enjoyed themselves.
The design for the set was extremely simple - three small potted cypress trees at the back, strewn with bunting for the wedding preparations. As with the previous evening, costumes were stylish, verging on lavish, in an appropriate 18th century fashion - essentially Mozartian. Bryan Evans accompanied with a beautifully idiomatic touch.
The four main solo roles were carried off beautifully. Huw Ynyr has a lovely sweet tone and was able to show his character's simplicity without making him a complete buffoon. Tereza Gevorgyan made Adina very much a sincere character, beautifully vocalised. Jevan McAuley's Sergeant dominated the stage whenever he appeared, and also showed the character's fundamental integrity. Matthew Hargreaves arrived on a natty tricycle with his wares in a picnic basket, and gave very much an all-singing, all-dancing account of Dulcamara.
As with the Verdi, the audience greeted the performance with entirely justified delight.
