“Elixir of Love” at the Met Opera: a Terrific Cast Freshens Up a Dowdy Production
From left, Mariusz Kwiecien, Diana Damrau and Juan Diego Flórez in this Donizetti comedy about matters of the heart, at the Metropolitan Opera. Photo by Sara Krulwich.
Peasant Pitted Against Soldier
‘L’Elisir d’Amore’ at the Metropolitan Opera
March 6, 2012 | The New York Times
With its lurid pastel costumes and swirling onstage activity, John Copley’s 1991 staging of “L’Elisir d’Amore” (“The Elixir of Love”) looks like an Easter egg display on steroids. Some of the cardboard sets and props could have been bought at a garage sale, and Nemorino sings his showpiece aria in what appears to be a forest of giant cauliflower.
But the sizzling energy of a terrific cast freshened this creaky production when Donizetti’s charming comedy returned to the Metropolitan Opera on Monday evening for the first performance of the season. The Copley version will be retired after the current run, replaced by a new staging by Bartlett Sher that will open the 2012-13 season.
Juan Diego Flórez lived up to his reputation as one of the most admired bel canto interpreters as Nemorino, a role debut at the Met. This simple country boy loves the capricious Adina, who gives him the line no potential boyfriend ever wants to hear: “You’re a really nice guy, but ….” So he wields the time-honored card of playing hard to get and eventually wins her heart.
A charismatic actor here, the boyish Mr. Flórez offered an endearing portrayal of the naïve Nemorino, some of his goofy drunken dance maneuvers earning chuckles from the audience. He sounded in fine form, his athletic voice navigating the coloratura hurdles with smooth legato and impressive control. He delivered a poignant, beautifully phrased rendition of “Una furtiva lagrima.”
One of the few other singers who can make coloratura seem so effortless is the soprano Diana Damrau, equally appealing in her house role debut as Adina. There is rarely a clunky moment with these two graceful singers. Ms. Damrau sang with fluid ease, nimbly scaling the coloratura heights. She was dramatically convincing as the frosty Adina, who eventually thaws and falls in love with Nemorino.
Clad in a garish robe, the baritone Alessandro Corbelli sang with flair (although without the elegance of his colleagues) and displayed perfect comic timing as Dulcamara, the quack doctor who sells the gullible Nemorino a bottle of Bordeaux that he claims is a love potion. The rich-voiced baritone Mariusz Kwiecien made a dashing Sergeant Belcore, swaggeringly confident in his amorous charms. Layla Claire sang beautifully as Giannetta, Adina’s friend.
After a sluggish overture, Donato Renzetti, who last conducted at the Met in 1989, led a lithe and ideally paced interpretation, albeit with some coordination problems between stage and pit. The pastel overload can lead to visual indigestion, but thanks to the stellar cast, it was a delightful evening nonetheless.