Despite the cold, late November weather, SF Opera’s L’elisir d’amore was a sunny affair. Anchored by its two solid leads, L’elisir was a joyous and genuinely funny show. With an updated production that refused to take itself too seriously, the experience was an enjoyable night at the opera.
Along with Don Pasquale, L’elisir d’amore remains as one of Donizetti’s most popular operas and certainly one of his most popular comic operas. I personally prefer Don Pasquale, but L’elisir with its frothy and light plot is still a fun affair and when done right, as it was here, it can be a genuinely entertaining night at the opera.
The Staging
This production transposed the opera from its original provincial village to a seaside Mediterranean resort, Adina here being the owner of a titular hotel, and Nemorino being a waiter in her employ. Workplace harassment is apparently not a thing in this universe. I enjoyed this update, and I thought it retained the provincial charm of its orignal setting, while preserving the essentially light, airy, and fun feeling that the opera invokes. The direction here was good as well, with ample physical comedy and modern references that kept the audience engaged despite some middling passages.
The Singing
I consider L’elisir to be a tenor’s opera. The action centers around Nemorino and the big aria, ‘Una furtiva lagrima’ is the showstopper in every production. Here, Nemorino was taken on by Pene Pati, one of today’s finest lyric tenors, and one of the most successful Merola alums. I’ve seen Pati before as the Duke in Rigoletto (also in SF) and at the time I thought his voice reminded me of Alfredo Kraus, but sweeter sounding and less reedy. Here, I thought Pati was doing a Pavarotti impression, which isn’t intended as criticism, but as an observation. The voice itself isn’t huge, but the control of dynamics and essential timbre is very pleasant. Pati rose to the challenge of ‘Una furtiva lagrima’ displaying impressive dynamic control, and long legato phrasing.
Nemorino is basically a golden retriever. He has a boyish attitude, his only real goal is to love Adina, and he’d probably do anything she told him to do. Within this frame, Pati did an excellent job of portraying Nemorino’s devotion to Adina, and it was impossible to not be charmed by his performance. He’s a charismatic performer, and his natural earnestness is extremely well-suited for the role. Pati was also given a significant chunk of the production’s comedy and was incredibly effective. It was a very complete performance, with both his vocals being on point, and his acting and comedic instincts being equally as good.
As an emotionally unavailable gay man in his 20s I can relate heavy to Adina. Like, we’re both just out here trying to live, laugh, and not fall in love. Slávka Zámečníková, making her US debut, understood this and was excellent as Nemorino’s other half. With her round and light lyric tone, her voice was well-suited to the mischievous Adina. Adina is a bel canto role, requiring fluent coloratura, evenness in the range, and supreme control of the voice. Here, Zámečníková displayed all of this, as she easily dispatched Adina’s coloratura, displayed no strain as she explored her range, and showed a good grasp of dynamic control (though I would’ve preferred more piano singing). Vocally, a great US debut of a singer who I hope to see again.
Zámečníková’s characterization of Adina was adept at conveying her character’s integral sense of independence. Unfortunately, Zámečníková wasn’t given nearly as much comedy as the other characters, instead acting as sort of a foil. It’s not really until her big aria, “Prendi per me sei libero” that she able to convey the depth of Adina’s emotions towards Nemorino. I don’t blame this on Zámečníková, rather it’s more of the director, who could’ve taken more opportunities to soften Adina and create a more interesting character. Overall, a highly satisfactory debut, and I hope to see Zámečníková again.
Competing for Adina’s hand, David Bižić was an entertaining Sergeant Belcore. Belcore is vain, and prone to grandeur, something Bižić understood and conveyed. From his entrance on a Vespa, to his grimy attempt at wooing Adina, Bižić’s Belcore was more bumbling and entertainingly overconfident, than a true villain. When he ultimately fails at winning Adina, he takes the news in stride, with no dramatic outburst or showing of anger. Vocally, I enjoyed Bižić’s smooth baritone and his aria, ‘Come Paride vezzoso’ was well-sung with Bižić having a real sense of how to convey Belcore’s sleaziness. Another satisfying performance.
As not the Wizard of Oz, Renato Girolami was a good Dulcamara. Like Bižić’s Belcore, Girolami’s Dulcamara was, as his character requires, a little grimy. The direction however, made it impossible to root against him, as despite his character’s flat-out deception and fraud he was still charming and enjoyable to watch, almost cartoon-like. His lyric baritone was well-suited to the character, and I detected no sense that the music was ever getting away from him. Add in his chemistry with his young sidekick, and Girolami’s performance was entertaining.
The Conducting
In the pit, Ramón Tebar did a good job of leading the orchestra, though I found him to be driving his forces a little too hard. Tebar displayed a good sense of how find the right balance between allowing his singers their moments to shine and show off their vocal abilities while also keeping the action moving. In Bel Canto operas especially, I look to see if the relationship between the conductor and singer allows the singer to display the long lines, graceful phrasing and beauty of sound that the style requires. My only gripe was that Tebar may have gotten a little too excited in his conducting, occasionally drowning out his singers’ voices at moments. It wasn’t a common issue, but it was reoccurring.
Stray Thoughts
Giannetta was NOT down with Adina’s bullshit
·Zámečníková’s voice reminded me of Adela Zaharia, but lighter. Seriously, listen to them both sing ‘Or sai chi l’onore’ and tell me otherwise.
The ethos of one lover a day is so gay man-coded, I love it