Movie Details

Set in an idyllic vision of a Southern Italian village square, Donizetti’s delightful opera tells of the romantic rivalry between the penniless Nemorino and the bumptious Sergeant Belcore. Both men are competing for the love of the beautiful, bookish Adina, whose reading of the tale of Tristan and Isolde makes poor lovesick Nemorino think that the wonder-working Dr Dulcamara might have just the potion his heart requires.

Witty, charming and ultimately deeply touching, this is Italian opera at its intoxicating best. The score bubbles over with high spirits, the action is genuinely funny and though, as in all the best comedies, the laughter is occasionally tinged with tears, true love eventually wins the day – all thanks to a bottle or two of Bordeaux. No wonder L’elisir d’amore has long been among Donizetti’s most popular works.

Annabel Arden’s production was first staged for Glyndebourne on Tour in 2007. Praised by one critic for possessing “the juiciest, most Italianate timbre of any British tenor”, Peter Auty returns to the role of Nemorino, with Russian soprano Ekaterina Siurina making her Glyndebourne debut as Adina. Also making his Glyndebourne debut is internationally acclaimed conductor Maurizio Benini.