By Michèle De Meglio
Lust, violence and magical potions – it’s just another night in Bay Ridge. Well, in the Regina Opera Company’s latest show. Beginning March 4, powerhouse singers will stage a production of “L’Elisir d’Amore,” a.k.a. “Elixir of Love,” at Regina Hall, located at 12th Avenue and 65th Street. “It’s a fun opera, it’s a comedy. We haven’t done this particular opera since 1987,” explained Francine Garber, whose titles at the company include chair of the board, executive vice president and opera producer. “It was time to repeat it.” Penned in 1832 by Italian writer Gaetano Donizetti, “L’Elisir d’Amore” is an internationally-renown piece made famous by opera star Luciano Pavarotti. The story follows the character Pavarotti played, Nemorino, who is caught in a sticky love triangle. “Nemorino is in love with Adina but she is attracted to an army sergeant who is a bit pompous,” said Garber, who produced the show for the Regina Opera Company. “His name is Sgt. Belcore.” Desperate for his feelings to be reciprocated, Nemorino jumps at the chance to get his hands on a magical serum promised to win the heart of his beloved. “A charlatan, a quack doctor, comes into town and tells Nemorino that he has just the thing that will make Adina fall in love with him,” Garber explained. “So Nemorino buys this love potion, drinks the love potion, but it turns out to be just a bottle of wine.” It is how he obtained the elixir that causes an even bigger headache for Nemorino than the wine did. “In order to buy the love potion, because Nemorino has no money, he enlists in the army. He gets the enlistment bonus and buys the love potion,” Garber said. Not wanting to leave Adina, he must now find a way to avoid going off to war. Of course, like any good comedy, high jinks ensue along the way. The opera is full of songs familiar to audiences. Especially “Una Furtiva Lagrima,” which, Garber said, “is something that Pavarotti would sing.” With Pavarotti in the midst of a world tour, Julián Altschul and Chris Carrico will take turns playing Nemorino and singing the aria. (Each role in the Regina Opera Company’s production will be shared by singers.) Adina will be played by Cynthia Firing and Jennifer S. Greene. Ko Kaiden and Claudio Mascarenhas will bring the arrogant Sgt. Belcore to life. The charlatan, Dr. Dulcamara, will be played by Jorge Arcila and Jorge Ocasio. Rounding out the cast will be StacyLyn Bennett and Elena Lagalante, who will split the role of Adina’s companion, Giannetta. “L’Elisir d’Amore” is one of three shows the Regina Opera Company will stage this year. The only year-round opera company in Brooklyn, the Regina Opera Company has been one of the borough’s premier entertainment venues for nearly forty years. The company was founded by Marie Cantoni and Nicholas Tierno with the simple goal of creating a place for Tierno’s brother, a tenor, to perform. They started out in a church youth center with just an upright piano to accompany singers. Now with a 300-seat theater and a 30-piece orchestra, the company has been praised for staging beautiful, professional shows suitable for children and adults. “We have great singers, a great orchestra, and we are presenting musical programs for the whole family. And the price – we have an affordable price,” Garber said. “You can hardly find anything of this quality in Brooklyn.” “L’Elisir d’Amore” will be performed on March 4 and 11 at 7 p.m. and on March 5 and 12 at 4 p.m. Tickets, which are to be purchased at the door, are $17. Students and seniors pay $12 and teens pay $5. Children get in free. “We will not run out of seats for this show,” Garber said. “We guarantee there will be plenty of seats.” The money collected from ticket sales is used to keep the company up and running. Partially funded by the New York State Council on the Arts, the bulk of the Regina Opera Company’s production budget is provided by ticket sales. For more information, contact 718-232-3555 or log onto www.reginaopera.org.
