Gaetano Donizetti: L'Elisir d'Amore [Video]

This production of the celebrated Glyndebourne Festival Opera marked a first: Italian maestro Maurizio Benini's premier turn as a Glyndebourne conductor. The opera at hand - Gaetano Donizetti's 1832 +L'Elisir d'Amore (+The Elixir of Love) - tells the familiar comic tale of the rivalry between an impoverished farmhand and an offensively self-assertive soldier, who end up vying for the devotion of the radiant young woman called Adina. This particular version stars Ekaterina Siurina as Adina, Peter Auty as Nemorino, Alfredo Daza as Sergeant Belcore and Luciano Di Pasquale as Dr. Dulcamara. The London Philharmonic Orchestra and The Glyndebourne Chorus lend musical accompaniment, with Maurizio Benini conducting and Thomas Blunt serving as chorus master. Annabel Arden directs for the stage.