Shanghai Opera House unveils new Shanghai-tinged 'L'elisir d'amore'

Shanghai Opera House will stage a new production of Gaetano Donizetti's comic classic L'elisir d'amore (The Elixir of Love) on Nov 13–15 at the Shangyin Opera House, as part of the 25th China Shanghai International Arts Festival.

A bel canto staple premiered in Milan in 1832, the opera is best known for Nemorino's aria Una furtiva lagrima ("A Furtive Tear").

Director Emilio Sagi has relocated the story to a sunlit Neapolitan street, with Fiat cars, scooters, bicycles, an ice-cream cart and costumes reminiscent of the 1950s. Local touches run through the concept: the original pizzeria is renamed "Shanghai Trattoria" (Shanghai Restaurant); the hero Nemorino becomes a fruit-stall vendor, heroine Adina a hotel owner, and the traveling quack Dulcamara peddles his "love potion" — ordinary cheap red wine — from the ice-cream cart.

"Comedy and love come together in this opera," Sagi said. "I hope Shanghai audiences enjoy the comedy, the music and everything we have put into it — two hours of good time with delicious music and a joyful show."

Shi Yijie, president of Shanghai Opera House and the tenor singing Nemorino in one cast, said the aim is to remove the period barrier and make the story immediate for contemporary audiences. The production is a centerpiece of the company's 70th-anniversary season.

Two casts alternate. Shi, who sang the role with Italian companies between 2009 and 2013, shares Nemorino with Wang Lian; Georgian soprano Nino Machaidze and Guo Chen share Adina; Italian baritones Alessio Arduini and Renato Girolami take Belcore and Dulcamara, with Fan Shaofeng and Huang Junpeng singing the same two roles in the second cast; Ma Ying sings Giannetta. Paolo Carignani conducts, with sets by Daniel Bianco, lighting by Albert Faura and vocal coaching by Gianni Fabrini.

Zhang Qingxin, deputy director of the company, said such international joint productions are meant to turn classics into repertory the company can stage independently, without relying on outside partners. After Shanghai, the production will tour Shenzhen in Guangdong province, Changsha in Hunan province and other cities.