Review - L’Elisir d’amore (Donizetti), La Monnaie, Cirque Royal (Brussels), Webcast

Adina: Olga Peretyatko
Nemorino: Dimitry Korchak
Belcore: Aris Argiris
Il dottor Dulcamara: Simon Orfica
Giannetta: Maria Savastano

La Monnaie Chorus and Symphony Orchestra
Conductor: Thomas Roesner
Director: Damiano Michieletto

Among the three productions by Michieletto I have encountered until now, this co-production of L’Elisir between Teatro Real in Madrid and La Monnaie is his most effective and entertaining work. The splendid execution of dramaturgy and a strong musical side made a convincing modern adaptation of a village saga in the Basque Country to a beach party at the seaside of Italy, with a possible reference to Rimini coast. In contrast to the dark soil surface and eerie atmosphere in Idomeneo for Theater an der Wien and Guillaume Tell for London Royal Opera House, the sandy beach under the orange stage lights dominated the circular stage in L’Elisir. A bar bearing the name of Adina sits on one side, the orchestra in their beach going outfit on the other with an observing tower hoisted a green flag above and palm trees in the middle.

In first half, the director was probably suggesting that the beach, where supposedly a place for relaxation and fun, would turn into a difficult public surrounding when affections went into the wrong end. The chorus played the role of beachgoers in sunbathing while we saw Nemorino, a staff at the Adina bar, gradually humiliated and mocked by the crowd as Adina rejected him for Belcore instead. Adina’s rejection was not merely a vocal display but one pity Nemorino when she dumped the teddy bear as a gift from him into the bin. Doctor Dulcamara’s entrance with his model girls and props to promote his energy drink ‘L’Elisir’ was effective and fun for a successful product propaganda. Though the special potion from Dulcamara did not help Nemorino to woo Adina and the misunderstanding went ugly. The raged Belcore threw garbage from the bin at Nemorino and with Adina, they gathered the crowd by pouring the canned beer onto him and even attempt to bury him in the sand.

The beach setting remained in the second half though more theatrically orientated. The focus was on the emotion struggles between Adina and Nemorino before they turned honest with each other’s affection. Michieletto skilfully interwoven the elements of modern party celebrations with the twisted love saga. We first saw a giant inflatable swimming pool in the shape of a wedding cake with wedded couple figures at the centre, and later filled with foams to make a bubble bath. The wedding night began with a stag party for Adina entertained by Go-go dancers but disrupted by an already drunken Belcore. He was more committed to the wedding but Adina hesitated and did not get into the celebratory spirit. Giannetta arranged other girls to seduce him probably hoping for a revenge. Though Adina falsely thought Nemorino was not that faithful when she saw other girls lured him into the bubble bath. It was only when she learnt the love potion Doctor Dulcamara gave to Nemorino, then realised his unchanged affection for her during the well known ‘Una furtive lagrima’, which sung from the rooftop of the bar. The end we saw Doctor Dulcamara left the drugs (Ecstasy perhaps) on Belcore’s beach sofa and got him arrested during the police raid of the beach party.

After the Zurich performance of Bellini’s I Capuleti e i Montecchi early this summer, Olga Peretyatko continued to impress with the smoothness in her singing and it was also the right role for her. Her timbre was very comfortable for the ears and not too bright in higher vocal register. No hint of tiredness throughout the performance and an impressive display of vocal fireworks with the coloratura. Physically she had an attractive outlook and successfully in portraying the role of Adina. Diction was not necessarily Italian enough but convincible to be understood. Dimitry Korchak might not have a big vocal volume and a radiant voice, though no sign of strain in the higher vocal range and phrased the music very well, which matched the impressive vocal display of Olga Peretyatko. He also captured the change of character emotions very well for the Cabaletta sections. It took some time at the beginning for Aris Argiris to warm up his voice for the warmth and depth. Otherwise, his physical outlook and gestures fit into the role of Belcore very well. Simon Orfica was highly impressive in those tongue twisting patter songs and his diction was probably the best of all. There were not many solo moments for Maria Savastano but presentable when she sang with the ladies in bubble bath before plotting against Belcore fidelity. The augmented Monnaie chorus was more youthful than normal and enjoyed themselves very much in actions, which lifted up the celebratory atmosphere and motion of this production. Intonation was also more secured than some other performances I had encountered but diction was not necessarily as good as the soloists. Thomas Roesner mostly got the orchestra and the soloists together but sometimes I thought his conducting did not help to provide the direction. Sluggish playing as a result that the orchestra sometimes a fraction behind the singers. In sum, this production worth future revivals for its new insight and making the comic elements vivid with modern relevancy.