Season-opening operatic romp a rom-com for the ages

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 29/10/2024 (580 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

What better way to open a shiny new arts season than with Donizetti’s comic masterpiece, The Elixir of Love, a light-hearted romp about romance and the games people (still) play.

Last performed here in 2005, Manitoba Opera’s production of the opera buffa, based on a libretto by Felice Romani, is stage directed by Ann Hodges; this love triangle — what we might call a rom-com — is one of the Italian composer’s most cherished works.

It also welcomes back to the MO stage world-renowned lyric soprano Andriana Chuchman as feisty protagonist Adina.

The Winnipeg-born singer marked her auspicious Metropolitan Opera debut in the same principal role in 2014. She proved her mettle, electrifying notoriously fickle New York City audiences after being asked to fill in for ailing Russian soprano Anna Netrebko on scant 48-hour notice, setting her already rising international career aflame.

This production, set in a remote Italian village during the 1950s, sees the hapless Nemorino — billed in the program as a “less than successful young fellow” — desperate to win the heart of the upwardly mobile Adina, who recounts the story of Tristan and Isolde and the magic potion Isolde uses to woo Tristan.

Enter Dr. Dulcamara, a slimy snake-oil salesman who tricks Nemorino into believing his “elixir,” a.k.a. cheap Bordeaux, will make Adina fall head over heels in love with him.

It’s a relatively simple premise and the narrative moves briskly, making the evening’s 155 minutes (including intermission) fly by.

For those of us not able to attend Chuchman’s Met debut (the notable exception is Hodges, who also directed Chuchman as Adina’s gal pal Giannetta during MO’s prior production in 2005), Saturday night’s performance offered a golden opportunity to watch the singer reprise the role that changed her life overnight.

The soprano immediately displays her crystal clear, shimmering vocals and spot-on intonation during Act I’s Della crudele Isotta (Of the cruel Isolde). Her keen acting skills take her from haughty fashionista, flipping though glamour magazines and mercilessly taunting Nemorino, to an achingly vulnerable dreamer yearning for her own happy ending as she realizes she’s fallen hard for Nemorino.

Chuchman also charms us with her rendering of Act II’s Prendi, per me sei libero, (Take it, I have freed you), in which she nimbly tosses off its effervescent colouratura passages with the lightness of a hummingbird, navigating its larger leaps with every note perfectly placed.

American tenor Jonah Hoskins, marking his MO debut, crafts a guileless Nemorino. His mellifluous voice is first heard in Act I’s Quanto è bella, quanto è cara, (How beautiful she is), as he moons for Adina, becoming increasingly distraught as she continues to rebuff him.

He flails about the stage as he becomes drunk on Dulcamara’s “elixir” and, in one of the show’s most hilarious moments, practically wrenches the doctor’s arm off as they seal their deal with a “handshake,” proving slapstick humour and physical comedy will always find a home on the opera stage and eliciting loud guffaws from the opening night crowd.

In fact, Hodges’ sensitive eye, detailed direction and just all around “going for it” are propelled by plenty of goofy sight gags and effective stage business that are a joy to behold.

Hoskins also bares his soul during his eagerly anticipated “big aria,” the beating heart of the opera, Una furtive lagrima (A furtive tear). The tenor wrings every ounce of emotion from its lushly lyrical lines, including resonant, ringing upper notes that garnered rousing applause and cries of bravo. One can only imagine how his interpretation of this showstopper, immortalized by the late, great Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti will deepen and grow in years to come.

It’s an absolute pleasure to see Canadian baritone Peter McGillivray grace this stage again; he last appeared as Don Magnifico in MO’s 2022 La Cenerentola. The beloved singer and force of nature brings razor-sharp comedic chops to his larger-than-life portrayal of Dulcamara, spitting out his text during Udite, udite, o rustici (Listen, listen, o peasants), in which he tells the chorus of tourists (in this version) visiting the village that he “has a cure for everything.”

A nice touch is two supernumeraries as his silent, Mafioso-style sidekicks, underscoring his presence with a sense of danger.

Another highlight is his Act II barcarolle with Adina, Io son ricco e tu sei bella (I am rich, and you are beautiful), in which he morphs into a wealthy, older senator imagined as a beautiful gondoliere, rowing his “boat” with a baguette. His rich baritone is as deep as the bonny blue sea, infused with a stream of deliciously rolled Rs.

American baritone Jorell Williams (MO debut) bursts onstage as the supremely confident sergeant Belcore — Nemorino’s rival — with his opening Come Paride vezzoso (Just as the charming Paris), his crisp, articulated runs executed with military precision.

Winnipeg soprano Karen Santos (MO debut) makes every moment count during her relatively brief stage time as Giannetta.

The Manitoba Opera Chorus, skilfully prepared by longtime director Tadeusz Biernacki, are in fine voice during each of the ensemble numbers, including a particularly zesty wedding banquet scene at the top of Act II in preparation for Belcore’s planned nuptials with Adina.

The incomparable Tyrone Paterson leads the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra through Donizetti’s melodious score; a special nod to principal bassoonist Kathryn Brooks for her buttery-smooth accompaniment during Hoskins’ heartfelt aria.

Constantinos Kritikos’s effective, multi-tiered set design, on loan from New Orleans Opera, evokes a rustic Italian village courtyard. Scott Henderson’s lighting design conjures the sun-drenched tones of Tuscan hills, infusing the entire show with atmosphere (despite a few wonky, abrupt cues that jarred the senses).

Stylish frocks and tourist garb provided by Harlequin Costume and Dance recall the mid-20th century vibe of La Cenerentola, bringing colour and punch to the stage.

Donizetti’s deceptively simple melodramma giocoso, sans the typical plot machinations and convolutions of grand opera, is essentially about love — a theme that never grows old. However, it’s also about hope in all its guises. While undeniably a safer choice for opening a new season, Manitoba Opera’s latest production offers an evening of high-spirited fun, thanks to its committed cast making this comedy sing.

The Elixir of Love has two more performances: Wednesday at 7 p.m. and Friday at 7:30 p.m. Tickets at mbopera.ca.

holly.harris@shaw.ca