Stars: Angela Gheorghiu, Roberto Alagna, Roberto Scaltriti, Simone Alaimo

Director: Brian Large

Summary: A performance of Donizetti's 'L'Elisir D'Amore' performed by the Orchestra and Choir of the Opera National De Lyon. Conducted by Evelino Pido. A peasant called Nemorino wins the heart of the rich and beautiful Adina.

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It's hard to think of a couple better suited to play the romantic leads in Donizetti's comedy L'Elisir d'amore than husband-and-wife team Roberto Alagna and Angela Gheorghiu. Both are charming on stage, and both have voices to die for: Gheorghiu's dark liquid tones are particularly spine-tingling, and her coloratura abilities awe-inspiring, and though Alagna has mainly concentrated on the more spinto (powerful) roles of the tenor repertoire, in 1996 when this live production was recorded his voice was just a little fresher and lighter and thus perfect for the bel canto gracefulness of Donizetti's writing. His performance of "Una furtiva lagrima", for example, is meltingly sung and free from all temptation to overplay the high notes.

Frank Dunlop's 1920s-set production doesn't quite produce the belly laughs some stagings manage (in Dulcamara's patter song, for example), but has a certain small-town wistful charm nonetheless. The orchestral accompaniment under Donizetti expert Evelino Pidò is spot on, and never falls into the banal "oom-pah" trap that such simple writing can often lead to. Overall, it's a production of great charm.

On the DVD:L'Elisir d'amore comes to disc with a 52-minute film on the history of the opera and its recording, with contributions from Alagna and Gheorghiu, and subtitles in English, French, German, Spanish and Chinese. The Lyon opera house is particularly well set up for video recording, and Brian Large does a sophisticated job of capturing a live performance: it's hard to believe at some points that the cameras aren't actually on stage in the middle of the action. Just occasionally this leads to the singers not knowing where to look and seeming a trifle lost, but generally the performances work superbly well on the small screen. --Warwick Thomson

Aspect Ratio:	16:9 Anamorphic Wide Screen
Region:	Region 0
Special Features:	English And Chinese Menus
Subtitles:	Chinese, English, French, German, Spanish
Release Date:	March 11, 2002
Runtime:	125 minutes
Certification:	Exempt.
Catalogue Number:	074 103 9
Keywords:	Music, Subtitled, Opera, Wide, Screen, Works, Stage, Classical, Performing, Operetta, L'elisir, D'amore, Arts
Genre:	Music/Performing Arts