The Elixir of Love at The Kennedy Center

The Elixir of Love

The Kennedy Center
2700 F Street, NW Washington

Handsome Nemorino employs a "magical tonic" to win feisty Adina's affections in Donizetti's loveable comic opera--a warm and inspired masterpiece cherished for its whimsical wit, endearing characters, beautiful arias, and intoxicating duets.

Thru - Mar 29, 2014

Price: $25-$300

Show Type: Opera

Running Time: 2 hours, 30 minutes with 1 intermission

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The Elixir of Love Reviews

Average Rating based on 3 reviews

Highly Recommended
Recommended
Somewhat Recommended
Not Recommended

Washington City Paper - Somewhat Recommended

"...But aside from lightening the mood, The Elixir of Love has little purpose to serve either audiences or the WNO. A third-run production of a frequently performed opera standard, Elixir is essentially a placeholder in a season that already hit its climax with the excellent Moby-Dick. There are no major stars to hype like Deborah Voigt for Tristan (who didn’t make it in the end). In fact, like Voigt, Ekaterina Siurina, who was scheduled for the lead female role of Adina, dropped out for health reasons, so the part goes to newbie Ailyn Pérez, wife of nearly newbie Stephen Costello, who made his WNO debut last month as Ishmael in Moby-Dick and takes the male lead here as Nemorino. The singing is workmanlike but nothing astounding. The set—a big barn, presumably in 19th century Italy but it could be anywhere—is well-designed but not terribly innovative. The music, conducted by another newbie, Ward Stare, is unobtrusive but weak and hardly joyous."

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- Mike Paarlberg

The Georgetowner - Recommended

"...This production of “The Elixir of Love” is just the sort of opera that is for people who don’t normally go to the opera. It’s a painless , but rousing, introduction, or, as one friend of mine put it, a “perfect American production of an Italian opera.”"

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- Gary Tischler

DCTheatreScene - Recommended

The Elixir of Love (L’elisir d’amore) is much more than an intoxicating revival. Stephen Lawless strips The Elixir of Love of any sugar-coated decor and cartoonish exaggeration and transforms it into an over-the-top comedy, refreshing, thought-provoking and profound in its insights about the maturation of human love.

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- Rosalind Lacy

The Elixir of Love at The Kennedy Center