★★★★☆
Rheumatism and migraines. Obesity and body odour. Flatulence, constipation and impotence. The Italian advertisements for Doctor Dulcamara’s medicine in Laurent Pelly’s 2007 production of L’elisir d’amore are easy to translate. Donizetti’s bel canto comedy of love, pride and quackery anticipates Verdi’s Falstaff in its tender mockery of human frailties and its warm embrace of the simplest pleasures: a kiss, a tear, a happy ending.
We all want a magic cure for our problems, especially problems of the heart, and none of us is immune to the cheering effect of a tot of red wine. Jaunty trumpet tunes, a plangent bassoon, sparkling patter songs and a “barcarolle” in 2/4 time are just a few of the highlights in this deliciously concise 1832 romantic comedy. The