The Royal Opera House: L'Elisir d'amore (2014) (NR)

synopsis

Donizetti's romantic comedy of rural life shines brilliantly in Laurent Pelly's hilarious staging, which matches the piece's perfect blend of sentiment and tomfoolery. Italian conductor and former Jette Parker Young Artist Daniele Rustioni conducts a starry cast. Lucy Crowe takes the dazzling soprano lead as Adina, the most sophisticated woman in the village, loved from afar by Vittorio Grigolo's handsome but shy Nemorino. Nemorino meets a worrying rival in Levente Molnár's braggart Sergeant Belcore, until the love potion sold to him by Bryn Terfel's larger-than-life travelling quack, Dr Dulcamara, gives him a powerful dose of courage - with both comic and touching results.