“The Elixir of Love” reviewed by Jacob Davis

Highly Recommended *****  Never doubt that an Italian opera from the early nineteenth century can still delight and amuse a foreign audience. Gaetano Donizetti’s classical love story The Elixir of Love is the Lyric Opera of Chicago’s first fully produced comedy since its reopening, and the new-to-Chicago production by its British original director, Daniel Slater, is as cheery and clever as anything by Gilbert and Sullivan and as dynamic as Sondheim. Musical director Enrique Mazzola’s conducting of the flowing bel canto makes for easy listening, and the singing actors’ timing takes the show from wryly entertaining to laugh out loud funny.
Our hero, Nemorino (Charles Castronovo), works at a hotel restaurant where we first see him taking naïve pride in placing each chair in exactly the right place. He loves the bookish, bold, and sophisticated Adina (Ailyn Pérez), but she hardly seems to notice him, being much more interested in reading from dramatic romances such as Tristan und Isolde than the humble, simple man in front of her. When the swaggering captain Belcore (Johua Hopkins) declares his intent to seduce and marry her, Adina bluntly reassures Nemorino that he’s the better man, but she’s fickle and needs someone who can keep her entertained. Nemorino is heart-broken until the arrival of the magical doctor Dulcamara (Kyle Ketelsen), who offers Nemorino an elixir that will make him confident, charming, and witty, and hopefully allow him to win Adina over before she marries Belcore in twenty-four hours. (The elixir’s secret ingredient is alcohol.)
Directing that can manage a crowd of actors skillfully enough to make a world seem three-dimensional is a bit rare in opera, but Slater clearly didn’t shy away from the task. No small part his success is due to embracing the tongue-in-cheek nature of the script. The chorus seems to be somewhat aware of what kind of stock character-laden comedy they’re in and facetiously endorse the credibility of deus ex machinas, as well as praising self-interest as a firmer foundation for love than self-sacrifice. Although Nemorino is nice, he’s also a bit immature and hapless, and watching Castronovo’s take, it’s easy to see why Adina would react to him like he’s a friend’s little brother with a crush on her instead of a real prospect. Belcore is a cartoon, refusing even to take off his sunglasses while explaining to Adina why she’s going to marry him, but he’s not particularly more cartoonish than anyone else and there is something to be said for straightforwardness. Slater talks in the director’s note about the importance of the audience actually wanting the lead characters to get together, and something that comes through in Castronovo and Pérez’s performances is how much their young characters are still finding themselves.
Donizetti’s music in this comedy is happy and uplifting, but it tends heavily toward dialogue. By far the show’s most famous aria, Una furtiva lagrima, is sublime, and Castronovo’s rendition does it justice, but for the rest of the show, it’s easy for an audience member to just go along with the legato. The audaciousness of Ketelsen’s Dulcamara is another highlight; while updating the rest of the setting to the 1950s, Slater basically makes Dulcamara the Wizard of Oz, and for all his grifting, he does form a bridge to a kind of magic. Although this is a show where you look at the supertitles a lot, it felt natural enough for most of the audience at the opening matinee to chuckle along with each development. For people who rarely attend operas, The Elixir of Love is a welcoming entry point, and for long-time fans, it’s vindication for an old favorite.

The Elixir of Love will continue at the Lyric Opera House, 20 N Upper Wacker Drive, Chicago, thru October 8, with the following showtimes:
October 2: 7:30 pm
October 5: 7:00 pm
October 8: 7:00 pm
Running time is two and a half hours with one intermission.
Performances are in Italian with English supertitles.
The Lyric offers parking deals with Poetry Garage at 201 W Madison St. if inquired about in advance. Tickets start at $39; to order, visit LyricOpera.org or call 321-827-5600.
To see what others are saying, visit www.theatreinchicago.com, go to Review Round-Up and click at “The Elixir of Love.”