I love Opera. I often listen to taped recordings of complete operas with internationally known stars while working in my study. I’m especially fond of the most popular old ones by Verdi and Puccini. But I also like many many others. One that is high on my list of likes is Donizetti’s L’elisir D’amour . It’s a comic opera, which is to say that there is a happy ending. It also has some very beautiful music, albeit not the kind you just have to hum while driving home.
My wife and I went to a performance of L’elisir D’amour at the Jerusalem Theater. The stage there is simply not made for fully staged opera. They did the best they could. The orchestra occupied one side of the stage and the action, with minimal scenery and props, took up the other half. The main singers were not names that most people would recognize, but they were much more than adequate. Nemorino, the lead tenor, was sung by Pavel Suliandziga. Dulcamara, the snake-oi salesman ‘doctor’, was Yuri Kissin, and the main female lead, Adina, was sung by Avigail Gurtler-Har-Tuv. I thought she was amazing. This was her first appearance with the financially struggling Jerusalem Opera. If you’re an opera lover and she is appearing in something near you, by all means go to hear her. She has such a small and fragile appearance. But her voice is clear, powerful, and a delight to listen to. I felt the entire cast would have done credit to any opera company. That feeling is strengthened when you consider that the Israeli government provides subsidies for the Israel Opera in Tel Aviv, but not for the Jerusalem Opera. We left with the hope of seeing more such performances in Jerusalem.
Wetherhorn 