BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Romance and a “magic” potion set the stage for a contemporary take on Donizetti’s classic tale “The Elixir of Love,” a co-production by the University of Alabama at Birmingham Opera and Chamber Singers.
Performances, to be sung in English, are set for 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 20, and Friday, Nov. 21, in UAB’s Alys Stephens Performing Arts Center, Sirote Theatre, 1200 10th Ave. South. The production, directed by Associate Professor of Voice and Opera Kristine Hurst-Wajszczuk, DMA, and conducted by Les Fillmer, is presented by the Department of Music. Brian Kittredge, DMA, director of choral activities, is chorus master.
Tickets are $10, $15 and $20, with $5 tickets available for any student with an ID or anyone under 18. A group discount for $10 tickets is available for groups of eight or more, with advance purchase required. Call 205-975-2787 for tickets. Visit the UAB Department of Music online at www.uab.edu/cas/music.
Set in a hotel, the story revolves around the bellhop Nemorino, played by Shane Bloemetjie of Huntsville, who is in love with the concierge Adina, played by Mary Katherine Whatley of Birmingham. Adina has a penchant for romance novels, and while on break she reads the story of Tristan and Isolde and the magic love potion to the hotel staff. As they return to work, Nemorino shares his love with Adina, who encourages him to try to forget her by dating other women. He refuses, saying he could never love anyone else.
Belcore, an army sergeant played by Nole Jones of Prattville, arrives and sets his sights on Adina. Belcore immediately proposes marriage, and Adina eventually accepts, hoping all the while to maintain Nemorino’s interest in her. Meanwhile, the traveling salesman Dulcamara, played by Johnathon Lyons of Tuscaloosa, arrives and sells his wares to the hotel staff. Nemorino buys a love potion from Dulcamara, which is actually just a combination of cheap liquor mixed to make a quick buck. Dulcamara tells Nemorino it will take 24 hours for every woman to fall in love with him, so Nemorino tries to play it cool with Adina, who misses his attentions. Incensed, she agrees to marry Belcore that very night, before the “elixir” will take effect. Will Nemorino lose Adina or finally win her love? What follows is a comedy of well-meaning deception, flirtation, jealousy, reversal of fortune and romance.
The chorus features music students with a diverse range of majors, from physical therapy, biomedical sciences, engineering and nursing to theater, language arts, computer sciences and music education. The chorus includes Katy Alford, Beau Boudreaux, Rebecca Egeland, Taylor Evans, Jeremiah McGuire, Lauren Moore, Myah Morton, Ashlyn Poe, Gregg Stuart and Mary Katherine Whatley of Birmingham; Erin Brown of Tuscaloosa; Macy Cox of Chattanooga, Tennessee; Felix Crutcher of Huntsville; Kristen Deneen of Vestavia Hills; Christopher Farley of Morris; April Hoge of Fort Payne; Nykkie Israil of Montgomery; Lydia Knight of Corner; Meredith Morse of Columbus, Ohio; Michaela Richmond of Kennesaw, Georgia; Siobhan Russell of Cullman; Hunter Smith of Gardendale; Karissa Woodley of Jacksonville; Elie Younes of Beirut, Lebanon; and Gregg Stuart, a local nurse.
