L‘ELISIR D‘AMORE at Barcelona Opera House Gran Teatre Del Liceu

Melodramma giocoso in two acts by Gaetano Donizetti to a libretto by Felice Romani.

A weekend in an Italian mountain village: Giannetta, a young bus driver who has ambitions of becoming a director, wants to stage a masque with the people of the village. The villagers have chosen Nemorino, a young laborer, to play the leading role. He has loved Adina, the village´s lively waitress, since his school days and he is teased constantly about his futile efforts to win her. The postman Belcore takes on the role of his adversary. He plays an officer of the »Alpini« mountain troops and makes a desperate attempt to save his reputation as the village charmer in the part. The waitress brings a cheap novel about Tristan and Isolde and the passion triggered by the love potion they drank, to the first rehearsal. She introduces a lot of confusion into the plot with the story, confusing Nemorino in particular, who thinks it applies to his own situation.

The village priest, Dulcamara, owes it to his position to play a role in the masque as well. Moreover, since he doesn´t like the communion wine that was recently delivered, he donates it to the play. And while the entire village enjoys the free wine, Nemorino waits for the magic potion to take effect ...