L'elisir d'amore facts for kids

Giuseppe Frezzolini was the first Dr. Dulcamara

L'elisir d'amore (which means The Elixir of Love in English) is a funny Italian opera. It has two acts. The famous composer Gaetano Donizetti wrote the music. Felice Romani wrote the story, called the libretto. He got the idea from another opera called Le philtre.

The opera was first shown in Milan, Italy, on May 12, 1832. It is still very popular today. L'elisir d'amore is one of the most performed operas in the world. A very famous song from the opera is "Una furtiva lagrima" (meaning A furtive tear).

Characters in the Story

In this opera, there are five main characters. Each character has a special singing voice.

Main Characters

• Nemorino: He is a poor farmer. He is deeply in love with Adina. Nemorino is sung by a tenor (a high male voice).
• Adina: She is a rich and beautiful young woman. Nemorino loves her, but she often teases him. Adina is sung by a soprano (a high female voice).
• Belcore: He is a proud sergeant in the army. He wants to marry Adina. Belcore is sung by a baritone (a medium male voice).
• Dr. Dulcamara: He is a traveling medicine man. He sells fake "magic" potions to people. Dulcamara is sung by a bass (a low male voice).
• Giannetta: She is a friend of Adina. Giannetta is also sung by a soprano.

There are also other people in the opera, like villagers and soldiers.

The Story of the Elixir

The story of L'elisir d'amore takes place in a small village. It is set at the end of the 18th century.

Act 1: The Magic Potion

Cover of the edizioni Ricordi libretto

Nemorino is a poor farmer. He is madly in love with Adina, who owns a lot of land. Adina seems not to care about him, which makes Nemorino sad. One day, Nemorino hears Adina reading a story. It is about Tristan and Isolde, who fall in love with a magic potion. Nemorino wishes he had such a potion. He is worried that Adina might love Sergeant Belcore.

Suddenly, Sergeant Belcore arrives with his soldiers. He quickly asks Adina to marry him. Then, a traveling salesman named Dr. Dulcamara comes to town. He sells his "cure-all" potions to everyone. Nemorino asks Dulcamara if he has a love potion like Isolde's. Dulcamara says yes, and sells Nemorino a bottle. Nemorino pays with all the money he has. The bottle actually contains only wine. Dulcamara tells Nemorino that the potion will work tomorrow. This gives Dulcamara time to escape!

Nemorino drinks the "elixir" and feels brave. He meets Adina and acts like he does not care about her. This is because he thinks the potion will make her love him tomorrow. Adina is surprised and a little upset by his behavior. To tease him back, she agrees to marry Sergeant Belcore right away! The sergeant's army has orders to leave the next morning. Nemorino panics and calls for Dr. Dulcamara to help him.

Act 2: Love and Fortune

Adina's wedding party is happening outside. Dr. Dulcamara is there, singing a song with Adina. The notary (a person who makes marriages official) arrives. Adina is sad because Nemorino has not shown up. Everyone goes inside to sign the wedding papers. Dulcamara stays outside, enjoying the food.

Nemorino appears, seeing the notary. He realizes he might lose Adina forever. He finds Dulcamara and begs for more potion. He needs one that works right away! But Nemorino has no money left. So, the Doctor refuses and goes inside. Sergeant Belcore comes out, wondering why Adina suddenly delayed the wedding. Nemorino sees Belcore but feels helpless.

Belcore asks Nemorino why he looks so sad. When Nemorino says he has no money, Belcore has an idea. He tells Nemorino that if he joins the army, he will get paid right away. Nemorino signs the army contract (with an X) and gets money from Belcore. Nemorino plans to buy more "elixir." Belcore thinks he has gotten rid of his rival by sending him to war.

Later that evening, the village women are gossiping. They say Nemorino has just inherited a lot of money from his uncle! Nemorino does not know this yet. He has spent his army money on more "elixir" (wine) from Dr. Dulcamara. The women suddenly act very friendly towards Nemorino. He thinks the "elixir" is finally working!

Adina sees Nemorino in a happy mood. She asks Dr. Dulcamara what is going on. Dulcamara does not know that Adina is the girl Nemorino loves. He tells her the story of the silly farmer. He explains how Nemorino spent all his money and even joined the army. He did all this just to win the love of some "cruel beauty." Adina then understands how much Nemorino truly loves her. She feels bad for teasing him. She realizes she loves him too. Dulcamara thinks Adina needs a potion now!

Nemorino is alone and thinking. He remembers seeing a tear in Adina's eye when he was ignoring her. He believes this tear means she loves him. Adina comes to him. She asks why he joined the army and plans to leave. Nemorino says he is looking for a better life. Adina tells him he is loved. She has bought his army contract back from Sergeant Belcore. She gives Nemorino the cancelled contract. He is free to stay.

As Nemorino takes the contract, Adina turns to leave. Nemorino thinks she is leaving him. He gets very upset. He says if he is not loved, and the "elixir" did not work, he might as well go die as a soldier. Adina stops him and tells him she loves him! Nemorino is overjoyed. Adina asks him to forgive her for teasing him. He forgives her with a kiss.

Sergeant Belcore returns and sees them hugging. Adina tells him she loves Nemorino. The Sergeant is not too bothered. He says there are many other women in the world. Dulcamara, with his bags packed, pops out. He says he will happily sell "elixir" to Belcore for his next love! The crowd gathers, agreeing that the "elixir" worked its magic. They all say goodbye to the Doctor.

Images for kids

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  "Dr. Dulcamara" (Andrew Foldi), an itinerant quack and purveyor of "elixirs" and other tonics, gestures to "Cochise" (Bruce Cooper), his sly trumpet-playing assistant, to call together the townspeople as he sings his act 1 (scene 2) aria "Udite, udite, o rustici" (Hear me, hear me, o peasants) in a performance of the Cincinnati Opera's 1968 "Wild West" production of L'elisir d'amore, in which the 1832 opera's setting was moved from a village in the Basque country to 1870s Texas.

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  Disegno per copertina di libretto, drawing for L'elisir d'amore (undated).

See also

In Spanish: El elixir de amor para niños