Scottish audiences will be treated to a humorous twist with Derek Clark’s arrangement of Donizetti’s The Elixir of Love produced by the Scottish Opera.
The upbeat opera is about love-struck Nemorino who buys a love potion (which is in fact watered-down wine) from the weird and wonderful Dr Dulcamara to win the heart of fair Adina, who is in love with the charismatic Sergeant Belcore.
The modern arrangement will consist of the violin, viola, cello, horn and guitar. And the musical highlights will include ‘Una Furtiva Lagrima’ and Dulcamera’s patter songs.
Ellie Laugharne of the 2013 Pirates of Penzance fame will take on the role of Adina and the 2015 winner of the Stuart Burrows International Voice award, Elgan Llyr Thomas as Nemorino. They are joined by James Cleaverton (Dr Dulcamara), Toby Girling (Belcore), Hazel McBain (Giannaetta) and a further five singers.
Conductor Stuart Stratford says he is looking forward to playing the dynamic new arrangement and exploring all corners of the Scottish mainland coasts and surrounding islands.
He says: “The Elixir of Love is full of fantastic melodies, a witty plot, and it is shot through with a bolt of Italian sunshine which permeates all of the music. I am very excited to be conducting this new chamber realisation of the score.”
Director Oliver Platt adds: “Elixir is the perfect opera: boisterous, fun-filled, and fast-paced with the ideal mixture of comedy and romance.”
The opera, playing at the Macrobert on Saturday September 24 at 7.30pm, is the second date in a 17 date tour of Scotland and running for a month. For a list of tour dates and locations, please go to http://www.scottishopera.org.uk or follow on Twitter @ScottishOpera.
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