Weekend Preview: Italian Love Lotion

You have come a long way, baby.

It is show time this weekend for Tacoma Opera, which runs “The Elixir of Love” by Gaetano Donizetti Friday night and as well as Sunday afternoon.

Tacoma Opera likely hates when I mention such things, but I was not a fan for quite a few years. Back in the day, it often staged shows in English rather than in the native language of Italian or German. Ick. That is like staging a musical with recorded music instead of a live orchestra. The theory back then was that Tacomans, apparently, weren’t cultured enough to understand the plots or smart enough to read the super titles over the stage. Some management changed killed that a few years back and great stuff followed. Thank heavens.

Such is the case with “Elixir.” My opera buddy was a virgin in such matters, and she was blown away by the performance. I was right there with her. The Rialto Theater echoes with the un-amplified voices of thunder tenor Marcus Shelton and angelic Megan Hart, who was making her Tacoma debut. And we just attended a dress rehearsal.

The comedy of unrequited love and a travelling potion peddler with a “love elixir” with the solution to the problem at hand was a Three’s Company episode straight out of the 1830s, showing that the challenges of love never seem to change.

This approachable and modernized production is a perfect entre into the world of opera for those folks looking to dabble their toes into high culture, while still a fun night at the theater for veterans. Proof of that was found when a few attendees of the show didn’t even recognize the language being sung, and they didn’t seem to care. Beautiful music is breathtaking in any language.

More information at TacomaOpera.org