Donizetti L'Elisir d Amore at the ROH

[Barbirollians]

Went to see this last Saturday . A terrific evening - much the funniest performance of this opera I have ever come across .

Alagna's voice may not be what it once was but his comic acting and timing was superb and he was required to do very athletic things for a man of 49 !!. Kurzak was sultry and spiky and sang well . The Dulcamara - Maestri was quite brilliant .

Lovely production too .

Strongly recommended.

[Flosshilde]

Listened to it on the broadcast last Saturday. As you say, Alagna's voice not what it was, which was very evident from the start (perhaps more so on the radio than in the theatre, where the acting could distract). Perhaps not advisable to take on the role again after 20 years?

[Barbirollians]

Possibly- in the opera house however his acting and charm compensated for it .

Una furtiva lagrima really sounded as if it meant something for once .

The evening was a striking contrast to my ears to the Sutherland/Pavarotti recording which is wonderfully sung but the comedy falls completely flat.

[Il Grande Inquisitor]

I attended earlier in the run and completely agree. Watching Aleksandra Kurzak from close quarters is captivating - lovely singer and a very good comic actress (similarly entranced by her Susanna). Alagna's tenor has a more metallic ring to it than when he first appeared on the scene, but he's such a sympathetic singer, open-hearted and good fun. Ambrogio Maestri practically stole the show, however. I adored his Falstaff last season and his Dulcamara was as irrepressible. I found Fabio Capitanucci more at home as Belcore than in Les Troyens. A very fine revival and I'm glad Radio 3 broadcast it last week.

[Flosshilde]

Alagna's tenor has a more metallic ring to it than when he first appeared on the scene, but he's such a sympathetic singer, open-hearted and good fun.

Perhaps that's the answer to doversoul's question about the benefits of watching opera on the stage rather than listening to a concert performance or CD.

[alywin]

Just thought I'd bump this, since I went to the cinema relay last night. Maestri was there again, but this time replacing Bryn Terfel. I don't think I felt the loss ...

What I did feel, though, was the difficulty of following the plot when the subtitles were so out of sync with the singers!