Saturday night, December 3, Opera in the Heights (OH!) will open the 2022/2023 live performance season with Donizetti’s beloved romantic comedy L’elisir d’amore or Elixir of Love. Additional performances will be December 3, 4, 9 and 11.
This production of Elixir of Love, set in the 1950s with a Happy Days theme, tells the story of lovesick Nemorino, the soda jerk at the diner, hopelessly in love with Adina, who is idolized by all, even cocky Sergeant Belcore. When the traveling salesman Dr. Dulcamara sells Nemorino a phony love potion, sparks fly and voices soar in this bel canto classic, including the famous tenor aria “Una furtiva lagrima” or “A secret tear.” This production from Pacific Opera Project will make you want to hop up from your seat and do the twist!
Elixir of Love stars Hayden Smith as Nemorino; Colombian-American soprano Oriana Falla as Adina; Byron J. Mayes as Dulcamara; Aaron J. Keeney as Belcore; and Chinese soprano Siwei Zhang as Adina’s friend Giannetta. Eiki Isomura is Opera in the Heights’ artistic/general director.
The opening of the new season is a cause for celebration for several reasons. Opera in the Heights will be allowed to stay in Lambert Hall at 1703 Heights Blvd., the company’s home for almost 25 years, with a new landlord, the Houston Saengerbund. And the company will be producing a full schedule of offerings this season. Also in December will be DOC the Halls: Holiday Songbook, the continuation of OH!’s award-winning collaboration with the Decameron Opera Coalition, this time a short film series built around all-new holiday songs commissioned by eight US opera companies. The season continues with Verdi’s classic masterpiece Rigoletto, March 25, 26, 31, and April 2, and a 25th Anniversary Concert on May 20 featuring Opera in the Heights’ orchestra and singers.
Opera in the Heights, a professional regional company, exists to provide a stage for emerging performers and bring affordable opera to the Greater Houston area. All operas are fully staged with orchestra and presented in the original language with English surtitles projected above the stage.
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