Well the first new opera production of this year of our Lord 1998 was not entirely wonderful. Donizetti's L'elisir d'amore is your basic fairy tale rural opera. The production made a big mistake in transporting it into an urban setting.
For one thing, the social class distinction between the landowning young woman, Adina, and the poor young farm labourer, Nemorino, was completely lost by changing them into the mayor's secretary and the post boy in some sort of sub-Albanian town hall. Mind you, you would only have known the true nature of Adina's transposed role by assiduous reading of the programme. I thought that she was just another typist from the typing pool.
One article in the programme by William Weaver points out that this opera (like many) takes place in a sort of operatic NeverNeverLand. Young women seem to be completely au fait with the legend of Tristan and Isolde. Telegrams arrive on cue to grant a fortune to the deserving, thanks to the death of a convenient rich uncle - couldn't we all do with one of those. So, fundamentally, this is not intended to be reality. And it is not intended to be profound.
However, it is not trite and, by the telling of a simple tale, we watch some accurate observations of human foibles played out before us. We recognise ourselves and others and we are entertained. In my humble opinion (which means, of course, that it is nothing of the sort), to go for a social realist approach simply misses this and doesn't give the audience credit for being able to draw its own conclusions from the spectacle.
Still, Barry Banks was a splendidly focussed (if small-voiced) Nemorino, Mary Plazas was a pert (if somewhat pushed) Adina and Andrew Shore stole the show as Doctor Dulcamara. Some of the actors playing soldiers were exceptionally cute.
One really bad note. My excellent subscription seats placed me on the front row
of the Upper Circle with a marvellously clear view of the stage. However, I spent
the entire evening in a state of worried tension from the moment that my
vertigo took a grip.