Created at the Opéra de Lausanne in 2012, revived two years later in Monte-Carlo, then in Tours in 2018, finally presented in Bordeaux in April, this Elixir of love, by Donizetti, delighted his audience each time. Even plebiscite this July 8, in Orange (Vaucluse), where the production of Adriano Sinivia made the opening of the Chorégies, under gusts of tramontana. Immense ears of wheat, obese strawberries, nature populated by monstrous animals – giant tabby cat, frog wanting to be as big as an ox, rats looking like big wild animals: the director placed the action from the perspective of ‘a Lilliputian tale or an animated film Minimoysminus the pointy ears. And it works, from the can of sardines for the women’s toilet to the enormous tractor wheel which serves as a dwelling, passing through the tin can which transports, like a Trojan horse, the soldiery of the advantageous Sergeant Belcore.
It all starts with a story of a magic potion, or rather a filter, the one that transforms Tristan and Iseult from enemies into a mythical couple. But there is no tragedy here: the world of commedia dell’arte prevails, even if the beautiful Adina (alias flirtatious Columbine), courted by the handsome Belcore (clone of the Capitan) does not care about the devotion that the poor Nemorino (Pierrot). The situation will end up being reversed thanks to the charlatan Dulcamara (double of the Doctor) and his famous “Bordeaux” elixir – it is conveyed, like a luxury Druid like Panoramix, using a gigantic bottle of wine mounted on wheels that it arrives in majesty on the board. As for Nemorino, the disinhibition that alcohol gives, combined with an inheritance unexpectedly fallen from the sky suddenly putting the fairer sex in turmoil, will bring the cruel mutineer, spurred on by jealousy, to do him justice and love.
Effective cast direction
For the extraordinary space of the Théâtre antique, the sets by Cristian Taraborrelli had to change scale, while the lights by Patrick Méeüs adapted to the open air. It was also necessary to increase the number of choristers and accentuate the make-up and hair details imagined by costume designer Enzo Iorio. The public did not miss a crumb of an effective direction of actors, carried by interpreters as good singers as actors, the vast movements of crowd contrasting with more intimate scenes.
If the wind did not help the singers, it did not facilitate the task of the musicians of the Orchester philharmonique de Radio France either, fighting with desks and scores under the playful and precise baton of Giacomo Sagripanti. The young Italian maestro, familiar with the Parisian pits, and in particular the Paris Opera (revival of L’Elixir d’amour, in the fall of 2018), conducts without a score, controlling the explosion of the choral masses (Choirs of the Opéra Grand Avignon and the Opéra de Monte-Carlo), pouring out into the more lyrical passages, bringing above all to the show first-rate musical cohesion.
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