Concert review , 1300+ words, 2 concerts = 1 Review

#1

Music 2302

November 22, 2016

Brett A. Lemus

Donizetti “Elixir of Love”

The Houston Grand Opera’s presentation of Donizetti’s Elixir of Love was a great

experience it was my very first time seeing an opera and I must say that I am very happy to have

had the opportunity to experience this event.

This concert was performed at the Wortham Theatre Center at 2:00 p.m. on October 23,

2016. I was very excited leaving the house to see the show, I would have liked to have my wife

go with me but she was in Italy on business with the kids. I was anxious to see the show as I

have never been to an opera. In route to the show I was pondering what it would be like and I

tried to imagine how this show would turn out. I thought to myself why I hadn’t gone to an

opera while I was living in Italy, it just never crossed my mind. I lived there for six years and

never thought once about going. I was never brought up to appreciate the arts and sometimes

wished I would have learned more about them growing up. I find the arts to have a divine

connection. The sounds of classical

music feel divine as if coming from the heavens.

As I arrived to the theatre I immediately notice the elegance of the building and the

people were dressed so elegantly it was an environment like no other. I received my ticket from

any instructor and proceeded to the lobby and had a fine tasting prosecco reminding me of my

time I had in Italy one of my favorite drinks. I hung around conversation with a few people here

and there and was very impressed with the classiness and etiquette of those around me it was a

very respectful environment and really did set a tone for the evening and the show to come. I

waited for the show about thirty minutes and then proceeded to my seat when the small

xylophone began to play a signal for all to take their seats. As I looked for my seat I saw some

young folks and I assumed they were fellow students who were there to watch the show. The

mood was starting to set in it was a relaxed environment the seats were high and far back not the

best seats but they were not bad at all the stage was easily seen from the angle. As I

accommodated myself I noticed the orchestra fine tuning themselves and preparing for the show

it was very nice to see.

The show was soon to start, I could tell because a cascade of people came in through the

doors and began to take their seats. It was a bit awkward for me since I was by myself, I am not

usually by myself and I felt a bit lonely to be honest. I felt like I might be able to start a

conversation with someone but it was getting late and the show was about to start all those

feelings went away when the conductor appeared and the crowd began to applaud. The orchestra

had finished tuning themselves and were ready to start the show. It was nice seeing the band get

ready as it reminded me of my days in High School band when I was playing the alto saxophone.

The stage was absolutely beautiful a setting that I am fortunate to be familiar with as I have been

blessed to have seen the Amalfi Coast in southern Italy and I can say it looked very similar to it

as close as an opera stage could get to it.

As the show began I could see a lady walking around and I immediately began to think

that she would be one of the main stars of the show. I took a look at the program that was given

to me at the entrance and read that that the lady was Adina played by Nicole Heaston one of the

main characters. The setting was her hotel Adina Hotel she was the owner. The play began

beautifully with the stage filling up with many performers all assimilating a typical Italian

restaurant-hotel scene. Nemorino played by Dimitri Pittas sang his first aria beginning the story

on his love for Adina and how she would never pay any attention to him since she was rich and

he was poor. I was very satisfied to know that the opera was sung out in the Italian language

being that I am fluent in Italian I understood what they were saying it just made the whole

experience so much better. As the opera played along I began to realize what was going on

Nemorino would search for a way to get Adina to love him. The appearance of Captain Belcore

changed story around and really added context to the story making it much more interesting. I

thought that the performers were great and really brought to light for me what an opera is all

about and how engaging it is with the audience. It was amazing for me to see how through a

combination of music and acting the audience can get engaged with a story and with the beauty

of classical music.

As the story progressed I really appreciated the performance by Doctor Dulcamara played

by Patrick Carfizzi and how he made it very comical with the elixir, Nemorino really believed it

would work for him it was very comical. The bass, tenor, and soprano were easily identifiable

during the show Captain Belcore with the Bass, Nemorino with the tenor and Adina as a soprano.

The surrounding supporting performers were very important to the opera as they really provided

some great visuals and brought to life a scene which felt realistic and really made me feel as if I

were there. I thought the performance by the supporting performers was great as they would set

the tone for each scene and really compliment the lead actors.

As the opera progressed I started to get a better feel for the opera as it was becoming

clearer that it wasn’t based so much on a tragedy but on a comical love story that was developing

through Nemorino rivaling Captain Belcore for Adina. It was very interesting to see how the

changes in attire, lighting and music would really set the mood for each scene. Reading the

subtitles was not bad at all and although the translation did not give the full expression of the

Italian language which is to be expected, but it did guide us through the story which is most

important. There were times throughout the opera that were very gratifying to me since I know

the language and I could really get the humor out of many of the lines, but I did notice that the

Italian accents were not accurate. I imagine they are for the most part American performers and

it may be difficult for them to pronounce many of the words however I was still impressed. I did

not know there would be an intermission something that I think is great giving the audience a

chance to get something to drink and a chance to go to the restroom. The intermission practice is

something I first experienced in Italy in the movie theaters something I think would be nice if

they did here in America. So I decided to have another prosecco as I told my wife how nice the

show was and then proceeded back to the theatre a few minutes afterwards.

I was anxious to see the final stretch of the show I was well invested into it and wanted to

see what developed. I noticed how the dynamics changed through the final run of the show and

how the expressions were amplified giving a crescendo feel as the show was coming towards its

climax. The story had a twist to it when Nemorino’s uncle passed away and he was left with a

large sum of money through inheritance. It was funny to see the reactions of all the ladies as

they found out that he was now a rich man and how he unknowing of his inheritance believed

that it was all a cause of Doctor Dulcamara’s supposed elixir which had no magical power at all.

Adina would go on to fall in love with Nemorino leaving Captain Belcore on the sidelines

although he nearly married Adina and tried to get Nemorino to join his Navy to distract him from

his quest to win over Adina’s love. The entire opera felt comical to me and really was intriguing

throughout. I thought to myself it must take a great deal of effort to put together a production of

this caliber. I was thinking to myself the whole time the amount of training these artist go

through to be qualified to perform at this level, it was great.

I can now say that I have an opera bug and that I will definitely be going back to see

more shows. It was absolutely amazing being that it was my very first time that I had gone to an

opera. The artistic display is like no other and the combination of a live orchestra, beautiful

vocals, and great acting make the experience like no other. Entertainment was not bad at all back

in the old days. I see how people really looked forward to seeing the latest productions and how

this form of entertainment really has connection to the people. There is definitely a divinity to

this form of art and I am glad that I have gotten to see a form of art that is not as glorified as it

once was but definitely should be. I am convinced that I will be returning for many years to

enjoy more operas in the future.