L'Elisir d'Amore (Mar. 31, 2012)

Composer: Gaetano Donizetti
Librettist: Felice Romani

Renzetti; Damrau, Flórez, Kwiecien, Corbelli

Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Chorus

Approximate running time: 2 hrs. 23 min.

One of opera’s most beloved comedies receives an extraordinary performance in this broadcast with a quartet of bel canto stars in the leading roles. Juan Diego Flórez is Nemorino, the country lad in love with the beautiful (and wealthy) Adina, played by Diana Damrau. Mariusz Kwiecien sings Belcore, the vainglorious sergeant who flirts with her. And Alessandro Corbelli is Dulcamara, the loveable quack and dispenser of the elixir of the opera’s title. The audience’s euphoric reaction prompts an encore of Nemorino’s “Una furtiva lagrima.”