Performance Dates

Friday, October 27, 2023 @ 8 PM – Discovery Theatre in the Alaska Center for the Performing Arts
Saturday, October 28, 2023 @ 8 PM – Discovery Theatre in the Alaska Center for the Performing Arts
Sunday, October 29, 2023 @ 4 PM – Discovery Theatre in the Alaska Center for the Performing Arts

  • Renewing Subscription Ticket sales began July 1
  • New Subscriptions Ticket sales began Aug 1
  • Single Tickets sales began Sept 1

Visit CenterTix.com or call 907-263-ARTS (907-263-2787)

About The Elixir of Love

“Love is in the air…and in the bottle!”

Shy cameraman Nemorino is hopelessly in love with film star Adina, but will she ever look behind the scenes, or past her super self-confident co-star, Belcore, to give him a chance? Enter “Doctor” Dulcamara from craft services, whose magic love potion is guaranteed to do the trick! Several swigs later, a comedy of blockbuster proportions unfolds – on screen and off! Drink in Donizetti’s delectable comic delight, delicious from the first sip to the last. Guaranteed no hangover – just a Hollywood ending!

In Italian with English Supertitles

Photo Gallery 

Photo Credits Denny Wells & Kathleen Behnke

Video Montage – Dress Rehearsal Oct 25, 2023

YOUR ad on OUR stage

Calling all Alaska business owners! Feature YOUR ad on OUR Stage at Alaska Center for the Performing Arts.

General Director, and Stage Director for The Elixir of Love, Ben Robinson is setting the action on a Hollywood sound stage in the 80’s. A huge 16’x9’ screen will be part of the scenic design allowing ads (in a graphic design style that is congruous with the aesthetic of the show) to be beamed during the opera! Both still image and video spots will be incorporated, and all design work will be provided. Logos and/or other visual assets of your choice will be included. 30-minute film sessions will be provided for video ads, which will be in the style of an 80’s commercial. A fun way to feature your ad with greatly increased visibility!

Call our office at 907-279-2557 to find out more.
CLICK HERE to view our Onstage Ad Rates sheet.

 

 

Synopsis The Elixir of Love

Act 1

Hollywood, 1989

On the soundstage of the hit sitcom, The Elixir of Love, shy camera operator Nemorino, nephew of the studio’s owner,  desperately tries to summon the courage to express his amorous feelings to Adina, Hollywood it-girl and star of the show. Nemorino is struck by the story of Tristan and Isolde, which Adina reads in one of the takes. In it, she describes the mysterious power of an elixir that made Isolde fall in love with Tristan.

Belcore, Adina’s co-star and off-screen romantic partner, arrives on set. He and Adina are to be married, on-screen and off, but Adina refuses to set a date. As the lunch break is called, Nemorino finally asks for a moment of Adina’s time, but she politely rebuffs his advances.

A commercial airs about LA’s favorite caterer, Dr. Dulcamara. Since the studio only has the best, Dulcamara himself shows up on the craft services team, hawking his wares. Nemorino approaches and asks if he has a love elixir like the one he heard about in the Tristan and Isolde story. Dulcamara handily produces a cheap bottle of Bordeaux and tells Nemorino that it is a powerful love potion. One sip will make everyone fall in love with him, but, Dulcamara warns, the effects of the “elixir” won’t be felt until one day has passed (which is conveniently enough time for Dulcamara to skip town on the red eye back East).

Eager to try this elixir, Nemorino pops the cork and takes a healthy swig. It’s good, so he thinks that if one swig worked, several swigs might be better. He confronts Adina with new confidence and convinces her that everything is going to change in one day’s time: tomorrow, she will love him.
Adina is… skeptical – and more so, after Belcore returns to set and announces that he has been hired for a war picture being filmed across town. Since he’ll be on hiatus for the sitcom, the on-screen wedding to Adina will need to be moved to the evening shoot schedule. Belcore proposes that their own personal wedding happen in a small off-screen ceremony immediately after filming wraps for the day. Adina reluctantly agrees, much to Nemorino’s chagrin.

Act 2

Later that day

Adina has become fixated on the idea of getting underneath Nemorino’s skin and rubbing the marriage in his face. Nemorino, concerned that the “elixir” won’t have time to work before the wedding, seeks out Dulcamara again. Since Nemorino has no money to pay for more elixir, Dulcamara suggests that Nemorino take the union job on Belcore’s war picture across town, which would force his to leave his job at the sitcom. Nemorino agrees and uses his signing bonus to pay for another bottle of elixir, which he downs.

Word makes its way around the backlot at the studio that Nemorino’s uncle has died and has named Nemorino as his sole heir. All of a sudden, everyone at the studio is lining up with affection for Nemorino, which convinces him that the “elixir” has finally worked.

Adina is jealous of the attention being paid to Nemorino and realizes that she has actual feelings for him. She shares her feelings with him and insists that he return to the sitcom so that they can be together forever – on screen and off.

Cast

Production Team


Lindsay OhseAdina (Star of the sitcom)


Philip CokorinosDulcamara (Craft Services)


Christabel Sosa – Gianetta (TV’s next It-girl)


Luke HoneckNemorino (Camera 2)


Jonathan HaysBelcore (Co-star of the sitcom)


Brian DeMaris, AO Principal Conductor

Lauren Miller – Set Design


Kaeli Braden – Costume Coordinator


Richard Gordon – Chorus Master


Ben Robinson, Stage Director/Projection Design


Cedar Cussins – Lighting Design


Elle Janecek – Hair/Makeup Design/Costume Consultant


Helen Irene Muller – Stage Manager

Katie BringoldAssistant Stage Manager

Free Student Final Dress Rehearsal

Anchorage Opera would like to open the final dress rehearsal to K-12 students at no cost for our production of The Elixir of Love by Gaetano Donizetti on Oct 25, 2023 at 7:00 pm performed in Italian with projected Supertitles in English. Seating is limited. We will do our best to accommodate any K-12 student that would like to come, however some parties may receive fewer tickets than requested based on availability.

Please CLICK HERE for our online voucher request form or contact Kaylee Wagle at 907-279-2557 or email kwagle@anchorageopera.org.

As this is a coveted event for many schools in the Anchorage area, please do not request more tickets than you will use. If you are promised a certain number of tickets and find you will not be able to use them all, please contact us as soon as possible so that people on the wait list can be notified and make arrangements to attend.

We hope to see a full house of  K-12 Students there! BRAVO

Free Pre-Opera Talks

Plan to join us one hour before each performance of The Elixir of Love to learn the interesting background, tidbits of information and fascinating insights into this delightful favorite. We are proud to present our colleague in the arts, Michael Jungreis, as your Pre-Opera Talk Host for The Elixir of Love. Michael is well-known to Anchorage audiences as the host of KLEF’s “Saturday Night at the Opera”.
Friday, Oct 27, 2023 at 7:00 pm in the Discovery Theatre Parterre
Saturday, Oct 28, 2023 at 7:00 pm in the Discovery Theatre Parterre
Sunday, Oct 29, 2023 at 3:00 pm in the Discovery Theatre Parterre