Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Το ελιξίριο της αγάπης

L'elisir d'amore, The Elixir of Love by Gaetano Donizetti, Effetto Venezia, LivornoWith last Sunday “Effetto Venezia” is finally over, at last. It usually ends mistreating an opera in “Piazza XX Settembre”: in 2010 we had a “Caballeria Rusticana”, a production of the Mascagni's opera with the action set in Spain instead of Sicily, while last year's “La Traviata” was lucky to be left in Paris, because the theme of “Effetto Venezia” 2011 was France.L'elisir d'amore, The Elixir of Love by Gaetano Donizetti, Effetto Venezia, LivornoThe story of “L'elisir d'amore” (The Elixir of Love) by Gaetano Donizetti traveled from a hamlet in the Basque Country to a Greek seaside village, becoming Το ελιξίριο της αγάπης (an uneducated guess of mine).L'elisir d'amore, The Elixir of Love by Gaetano Donizetti, Effetto Venezia, LivornoIn Dulcamara's “Udite, udite, o rustici” (Listen, listen, o peasants) they even made a clumsy effort to make the Greek setting more believable changing the price of the quack's concoction from “scudi” (shields) and “lire” (pounds) to drachmas. They missed the fact that a “scudo” was three “lire”, so the price at the end of the aria fluctuates erratically, but I was probably the only one who noticed.L'elisir d'amore, The Elixir of Love by Gaetano Donizetti, Effetto Venezia, LivornoOn Saturday, the night before the representation, I watched part of what would have been the dress rehearsal, but, as you can see, the costumes weren't obviously there. Opera is born for theaters and the poor acoustic of the square was enhanced quite badly with the use of electronic amplification. This didn't bother much the audience at the actual performance: most of the presents clapped hands frantically at every possible occasion and this says more of the kind of operagoers we have than of the execution (a perfect term) of the opera itself.

See also: Caballeria Rusticana
External links: The Elixir of Love - Gaetano Donizetti (Wikipedia)
Search labels: Effetto Venezia

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

It was today eight years ago, that I came to Greece, being deeply 'sick' of such an elixir. The chairs in the second picture look indeed Greek.

Enjoyed much your writing.

Please have a good Tuesday.

Michelle said...

An interesting performance. I have to say I have never experience a true opera performance.

Jack said...

So, you didn't like it, right?

Randy said...

Nice series of shot.

cieldequimper said...

:-)

Some would say that it's better for people to listen to ANY opera rather than NONE. I've always failed to see the point.

Una furtiva lagrima negli vuoi (tuoi?) occhi spuntò?

:-)

VP said...

Jack - Did I give this impression?
ciel - Let me quote the Gospels: “They may listen, but not understand” (Mark 4:12b).

Una furtiva lagrima
negli occhi suoi spuntò ...

Dina said...

The saving factor in this was your opportunity to write such an amusing review. :)

Elixir of Love was the first opera I ever saw, as a teen in my native Chicago.

Stefan Jansson said...

I remember reading about Effetto Venezia in previous year. Not really your cup of tea if I remember correctly.

Rob Siemann said...

Poly kalo!

Gunn said...

Nice and interesting documentary images.
I have only been once to the opera house in Covent Garden in London......
But yes, I have some cd`s with opera.
Which opera is your favorite?

Halcyon said...

An outdoor square might not be the best place to experience opera, but I still think programs like this have merit. It gives people a chance to get a taste for this art which can be inaccessible to many due to the price.

PerthDailyPhoto said...

I enjoyed this review VP, your description 'mistreating an opera' made me laugh, perhaps you're right, that there's a time and place!

Unknown said...

Great post! Love the top portrait.