L’elisir d’amore

Claudia Boyle in Irish National Opera's L’elisir d’amore. Photo, Ros Kavanagh

*****

Seriously, though you probably won’t believe me, this is the plot to L’elisir d’amore, Donizetti’s vibrant comic opera as imagined by director Cal McCrystal for Irish National Opera’s final production of the season. In an old Western town at the turn of the nineteenth century, Woody from Toy Story (Nemorino) falls hopelessly in love with Scarlett O’Hara (Adina). All the towns folk think he’s silly, including Laurel and Hardy, Calamity Jane, a camp Keystone Calvary and that couple from the American Gothic painting. Even Abe Lincoln sees the writing on the wall. To make matters worse, Woody has a rival for Scarlett's affections. A man mountain of Magic Mike musculature, the suave Sergeant Belcore is the guy all the bad girls want. But Belcore wants Scarlett who, wishing to make Woody jealous, agrees to marry him. Enter the duplicitous Doctor Dulcamara and his long suffering assistant, Truffaldino, like the Wizard of Oz in a hot air balloon, selling the deluded Woody wine passed off as an elixir of love guaranteed to make every woman fall for him. And, indeed, every woman turns out to be wild for Woody, especially Scarlett. Yet it has nothing to do with the elixir. Those old reliables, money and jealousy, bringing it all home in a rousing finale. Yes, I know. Daft, busy, and steeped in visual cliche. Yet L’elisir d’amore is arguably the most fun you’re likely to have at an opera, with superlative singing to boot.

Irish National Opera's L’elisir d’amore. Photo, Ros Kavanagh

As spectacle goes, L’elisir d’amore is a lot busy and a little mixed. Sarah Bacon evoking the barebones of a cartoon Western with a cactus dry landscape dominated by a Bates Motel, with both pressed against shifting, vermilion skies and the occasional buffalo stampede. Exquisitely lit by Sarah Jane Shiels, despite a few marks being missed on the cramped stage. In contrast to the set’s simplicity, Bacon’s costumes prove richly detailed, right down to the writing on Woody's shoe, with Scarlett’s southern belle gowns each more sumptuous than the last. Detail to dress echoed in an exhilarating chorus whose movement, singing, acting and dancing are orchestrated almost as perfectly as Donizetti’s resounding score. Given vibrant, flowing life by conductor Erina Yashima and The Irish National Opera Orchestra.

Duke Kim and Claudia Boyle in Irish National Opera's L’elisir d’amore. Photo, Ros Kavanagh

At its core, a happy marriage of acting with singing make this a truly entertaining production. Like trying to choose your favourite child, selecting between soprano Claudia Boyle’s vivacious Adina, soprano Deirdre Higgins’s sumptuous Gianetta, tenor Duke Kim’s lovelorn Nemorino, bass Gianluca Margheri’s musclebound Belcore, bass-baritone John Molloy’s devious Dulcamara, and Ian O'Reilly's mostly non-singing Truffaldino seems almost cruel. Each in their own way utterly magnificent, conveying their character’s inner truth in scrupulous singing wedded to assiduous acting. Molloy and O’Reilly’s comic double act capturing smart, vaudevillian repartee in pre-show introductions for both acts. Kim, embracing Nemorino’s naivety, is exceptional as the comic dope whose rendition of Una furtiva Iagrima is heart-achingly sublime. Deirdre Higgins might have less to do, but she's never less than captivating. As is Gianluca Margheri’s outstanding Belcore. Believing women love a man in uniform, him especially, Margheri has no problem ripping his top off just in case. Reminding an appreciative audience that he could easily be making far more money as an in demand, male stripper. The power and sweet tones of his impeccable bass leaving us eternally grateful he chose opera.

Gianluca Margheri in Irish National Opera's L’elisir d’amore. Photo, Ros Kavanagh

Central to it all is a divine Claudia Boyle. Without question one of our most gifted sopranos, Boyle is arguably our most gifted operatic actor. Every movement, expression and gesture is infused with character-rich expression perfectly harmonised to the most exquisite singing in which trills thrill. More than that, Boyle sets the tone and establishes impeccable standards onstage, giving others permission to play whilst setting the bar, vocally and performatively, impossibly high. Which this cast attain to magnificently. Indeed, Woody and Belcore might well have another arrival. For if you’re not already wildly in love with Boyle, you will be after L’elisir d’amore. Her rendition of Prendi; per me sei libero seeing Boyle flip from comedic to serious with sublime results. Clearly, there’s nothing Boyle can’t sing.

Irish National Opera's L’elisir d’amore. Photo, Ros Kavanagh

Comic opera often suffers snobbish prejudice given its lack of gravitas. There's no jokes in the Bible, they say, and L’elisir d’amore is awash in naughty postcard humour. Yet even God was on her feet laughing and applauding. For some, L’elisir d’amore will appear visually busy, not helped by the cramped confines of the stage. But surrender to the whirlwind. Let it whisk you along with its mad cap inventiveness, carry you on its waves of exuberant joy, and smother you with its musical and visual richness. Director Cal McCrystal, the unsung hero of this terrific production, whose choreographic and compositional brilliance is superbly peppered with hilarious meta-operatic touches (a stage manager harassing Laurel and Hardy, a chorus singer overstepping her role), knows that if you're going to go over the top, go all the way over the top. May 28 sees Irish National Opera announce their next season. If L’elisir d’amore gives cause for excitement, it also presents the forthcoming season with issues. Namely, how to deliver an operatic experience to rival this? Joyous, delightful, exhilarating, hilarious, L’elisir d’amore offers an exquisitely entertaining night at the opera. Comic opera doesn't get better than this.

L’elisir d’amore, by Gaetano Donizetti, libretto by Felice Romani, presented by Irish National Opera, runs The Gaiety Theatre till may 31 before embarking on a national tour.

June 4, National Opera House, Wexford.

June 7, Cork Opera House.

For more information, visit The Gaiety Theatre or Irish National Opera or touring venues.