Love Comes in at the Eye

The libretto of Gaetano Donizetti's 1832 opera L'elisir d'amore (The elixir of love) has wide appeal. Many of us have suffered the torture of being in love with someone who doesn't know we exist, and worse, wouldn't be interested if they did. But even more of us have grown up with the story of the young simpleton who, through no other talents than his own uncanny foolishness and constant good nature, garners heaps of gold coins and the kingdom's most beautiful maiden at story's end. You remember him — he's usually named Jack, and he's the one who sells his mother's cow for a handful of magic beans. Saturday night, in Opera San José’s production, as I watched Donizetti’s version of Jack, the affable young dolt Nemorino (which translates as “Little Nobody”), I felt myself rooting for him to succeed in his search for true love, however preposterous it is. Of course, he did, and the child part of me was, as always, well pleased. Director Dianna Shuster made the excellent decision to have Nemorino, sung by Alexander Boyer on opening night (the production is double cast), address many of his songs to the audience. This is especially effective in Opera San José's lovely California Theatre, a venue that has not only intimacy but also warmth in its very human dimensions. Beginning with his first song, the cavatina "Quanto è bella" (How beautiful she is), Nemorino draws the audience into his dilemma, and it remains his confidant throughout the opera.

All photos by Pat Kirk

Along with intimacy, the theater has excellent acoustics that favor orchestra and singers alike. Tenor Boyer has a large, beautifully warm voice. Lacking that edgy resonance of an Italian tenor, he's more of a Domingo than a Pavarotti, and his sound is unfailingly pleasing. He also has the right physical appearance for Nemorino: tall and large-framed but not too round, with a fresh-faced sincerity that reads as innocence. Boyer was part of the San Francisco Opera's Merola program, which endlessly seems to produce excellent singers. Boyer voice was well-partnered by soprano Khori Dastoor, who sang Adina, the mocking object of Nemorino's affection. Dastoor's voice has weight in the lower register and a formidable set of silvery upper notes, which ascended in shimmering flight in her lovely rendition of Adina's second-act confession of love. She is able to portray Adina as both spoiled and lovable.

A Medical Huckster From Down El Camino

Bass Silas Elash sang the enviable part of the quack "from Cupertino," Dr. Dulcamara. The doctor is the fairy tale equivalent of the old hag (or talking animal) who gives the hero the magic tool that will help him win the day. In this case, the magical item is a bottle of Bordeaux purported to be the love potion of Queen Isolde. Elash sang the part with gusto and an ironic, slightly dissolute air. His songs, the precursors to late-19th-century patter songs — the signature pieces of the fast-talking, ethically questionable, completely ridiculous man of authority — had the same agreeably comic quality as their Gilbert and Sullivan progeny.

Baritone Krassen Karagiozov sang the role of Sergeant Belcore, Nemorino's rival for the hand of Adina. He managed to capture the raging self-absorption of the "modest" army officer who is more in love with himself and conquest than anything in the universe — without having us dislike him at any point in the opera.

The Opera San José chorus seems to be getting stronger and stronger with each new production. To their credit, the creative team strove to connect the story to San Jose, adding regional references in the supertitles. The set production, by Charlie Smith, used architectural drawings of the city from the turn of the 19th century on the upstage backdrop as a central feature of the sets. Members of the audience recognized the buildings, including the light tower that no longer exists, and seemed to appreciate the idea. The drawings, however, had that distant, professional quality that contemporary architectural renderings have. Similarly, the lighting, by Pamila Gray, had a cool, "designerly" feel.

More in keeping with the warmth and humor of the opera was the front curtain, which was lusciously painted with fruits, vegetables, and flowers, resembling the gorgeous paintings that characterized California shipping crate labels in the early part of the last century. Overall, Opera San José presents an enjoyable and admirable production of L'elisir d'amore, which continues through next weekend.