We turn on the ENO colour TV and watch the convoluted drama of this ENO new production of Donizetti’s “The Elixir of Love” from our comfy chairs.
You know you have been to an ENO Opera, after just the first few minutes. The wall of sound hits you, as the ENO chorus suddenly gets going. They are already busying themselves rushing around as the curtain goes up – but nothing prepares you for the volume and the pin point harmony.
Teresa Riveiro Bohm, making her debut as guest conductor, waves the orchestra along, it is unrelenting right from the get go. She smiles as she nods to the audience, but this is no time for pleasanteries. This is a story about the chaos of love, with both its serious message and its absurd moments. We have all been there, either personally – or we have seen it on TV.
Set in England with a World War 2 backdrop, this production is not a Mozart Opera, despite its subject matter. There is a similarity, sure – the upside down of love, – but there are none of those fabulous melodies with their superb cadences. But that does not matter.
The key drivers of this most fantastic production, are the absolute tight harmonies between the four protagonists, that are non-stop; the ebb and flow of the chorus as they contrast the moments of pathos; and the absurd humour – played to excess by our heroes.
I absolutely loved it. Rhiannon Lois, as Adina, former Harewood protege, was superb – how she can play that role, with its amazing vocal line, and be so convincing in the comedic love triangle – is beyond me.
But then so was Thomas Atkins, making his ENO debut too, as Nemerino. Genuinely funny, with an ease of movement between slapstick and absurd – and the deeper aspects of non-requited love. His on-screen dialogue with Dan d’ Souza, verged on pantomime.
Brandon Cabel, as the on-screen spiv Dulcamara, so to say, was very clever; I loved the teamwork and power-play with his two accomplices, matching their actions absolutely to the timing of the music.
This was a very well created direction, and delivered by a first-class team. You could have heard a pin drop in so many of the quieter moments.
For me, Act 2 needed the continual thrust of the orchestra, to keep that momentum going. But as in all soap operas on TV, the good guy gets the girl in the end.
Or maybe he doesn’t. It is left to Dulcamara, to spell out the morale of this story – that love has its ups and downs, and you don’t need artificial elements to help it along. Love will find its own way in the end.
The Elixir of Love, can be seen for a further 4 performances at English National Opera, London Coliseum.
