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Nemorino suffering the attentions of the ladies Photo courtesy AmatoOpera.org |
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Belcore presents arms to Adina Photo courtesy AmoreOpera.org |
Every Elixir needs a good Nemorino, and Nemorino in Friday night's cast was a delight. (Each principal role was triple cast, but I can only report on the cast I saw.) Aaron Blankfield was a charming bumpkin, hopelessly in love with the beautiful Adina, in spite of Adina's repeated claims his hopes are in vain. As the performance progressed, Mr. Blankfield became more and more confident and comfortable, which made his physical and vocal performances more and more free. Adina was Sarah Moulton Faux, whom we praised in these pages in 2011 for her participation in a Baroque opera concert. The lovely Ms. Faux has a beautiful sound and is a joy to see on stage. Adina and Nemorino had a lovely chemistry, and, as usual, "Prendi, per me sei libero", toward the end of the second act, brought a tear to this bitter old critic's eye. It is clear Adina has always loved Nemorino, although she herself might not have realized it.
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Entire company, including chorus, dancers, and too much scenerey Photo courtesy AmoreOpera.org |
This production had quite a lot of the spirit of the old Amato Opera, from the gleeful "Let's put on a show!" spirit to the overcrowded stage and resulting awkward staging of crowd scenes. In the smaller scenes director Nathan Hull did well, giving his artists guided breathing room in finding their own characters. Music Director Daniele Tirilli's sometimes rushed tempi were hard to follow, and the orchestra sounded a bit underrehearsed, even though this was performance no. 6 of 7.
I have a few qualms, yes, but I do recommend this show. Unfortunately, there is only one more performance, which will likely be over by the time you read this post!
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