The Elixir of Love by Donizetti, S 02 apr 2022, No (2020/2022), Režisēja Ludmila Naletova, Diriģents Maria Maximchuk, Felix Korobov, Wolf Gorelik, Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Music Theater, Moscow, Russia

Melodrama giocoso, "a merry melodrama" - this is how the genre of the opera L'elisir d'amore was defined by its author Gaetano Donizetti. Lyrical episodes and buffoonery closely coexist in it. It is in the "Potion of Love" that one of the most popular arias in the world sounds - Nemorino's romance Una furtiva lagrima . You will easily remember it if you have seen Nikita Mikhalkov's film "Unfinished Piece for Mechanical Piano". In fairness, let's say that this romance was written long before the composition of the opera. One fine day, Donizetti realized that this music should be given to the protagonist of "Love Potion", and he did not lose. A beautiful melody was the finishing touch in the process of creating a masterpiece of bel canto. The opera begins with a classic love collision: Nemorino is in love with the village beauty Adina, and she does not reciprocate his feelings. The appearance of the brave sergeant Belcore and the charlatan doctor Dulcamara turns the spring of intrigue. A series of funny misunderstandings leads the heroes of the opera to a happy ending. The production by Lyudmila Naletova, first performed almost a quarter of a century ago, is a long-liver of the Moscow opera stage. Over the years that have passed since the premiere, several casts have changed, but the audience's love for this cheerful sunny opera remains unchanged.