Maria Fernanda Brea is Adina, Chester Pidduck is Nemorino in Elixir Photos by Otak Jump
West Bay Opera General Director José Luis Moscovich is always enthusiastic, but when it comes to the company's next production, Donizetti's 1832 L’elisir d’amore (The Elixir of Love), Moscovich is positively over the moon (but not of Jupiter, see below). Here are the highlights, in his words:
* As Adina, 23-year-old María Fernanda Brea from Venezuela has a voice of a size, clarity, and agility seldom encountered in a single package. Soon it won't be possible to see her live this cheap [West Bay tickets run from $40 to $75].
* For the production, here's my novel concept: We take latest generation image projection technology and, instead of using it to set the opera on one of Jupiter's moons, we use it to deliver, believably, the composer's intended setting. Well, the composer didn't say exactly what town, and I am partial to Fiesole.
* Great orchestra reduction by Bryan Higgins, only involves 24 players but we make it sound twice as big.
* The 30-person chorus [that's just about the maximum for the Lucie Stern Theatre stage] makes me wish we were doing Meistersinger or Boris Godunov.
Nemorino is about to try the elixir for which the Donizetti opera is named
* Chester Pidduck, the Nemorino, well-known from appearances with many companies in the Bay Area. He is the quintessential Nemorino, vocally agile and not afraid of taking risks to deliver the character that Donizetti had in mind: a mix of innocent vulnerability and manly determination that ends up carrying the day.
* Baritone Igor Vieira returns after assignments in Europe, South America and the San Francisco Opera, to sing the role of Dr. Dulcamara.
* Krassen Karagiozov sings Belcore and Molly Mahoney makes her company debut as Giannetta.
* L’elisir d’amore was first presented at West Bay Opera in 1967, and revived in 1974, 1981, and 1992, making the current effort the company’s fifth production of the work.
* I prepared a new translation for the Supertitles of this production, which is sung in Italian.
* Stage direction is by David Cox, whose recent credits for West Bay Opera include a memorable Turandot and more recently a very successful Don Giovanni. Set design by Peter Crompton; costume design by Callie Floor; lighting design by Kurt Landisman; projections design by Frèdèric Boulay; sound design by Tod Nixon.
