Under 16s go free
Groups 8+ £3 off
Start Time: 7:30pm
Director: Eleanor Strutt
Conductor: Marcio da Silva
And with the Sussex Concert Orchestra
Pre-show talk with the Director: Sat 27 Apr 2024, 6pm.
Free and open to all ticket holders from both evenings and lasts about 20 minutes.
Opera South East are pleased to announce their forthcoming production of Donizetti’s comic opera, The Elixir of Love, in two acts.
Following her success with Opera South East’s production of Carmen in April 2023, Artistic Director, Eleanor Strutt, who first came to prominence to Hastings audiences with her collaboration in Prologue Opera’s production of Becoming Carmen in the autumn of 2022, returns to the south coast to set this production in the seaside resort of Hastings.
In the early 1950s, the local council have decided to promote the town as a seaside resort, producing colourful leaflets and posters, all aimed at convincing potential holidaymakers that the town offers a glamorous alternative to what were still straitened post-war circumstances. The star of the advertising campaign is the wealthy and attractive Adina, who loves being the centre of attention.
She is pursued by two would-be suitors: the simple Nemorino, and the cocky Sergeant Belcore. When the spiv ‘doctor’ Dulcamara visits the town with his miracle cures, Nemorino asks if he has an “Elixir of Love”. Ever the salesman, Dulcamara repurposes a bottle of cheap wine to the credulous Nemorino. But then, magically, the “Elixir of Love” seems to have its desired effect…
Following Ken Roberts’ retirement after last year’s production of Carmen, Opera South East have appointed Marcio da Silva as its Musical Director and Conductor. Marcio is well known to Hastings audiences having made a huge contribution to the musical life of the whole town, offering an impressive range of high-quality choral, orchestral, and chamber music performances each year since his arrival in Hastings just over a decade ago.
Cast
Opera South East is also delighted to welcome Helen May to the cast for this production, who plays the role of Adina. With John Twitchen as the hapless Nemorino, Richard Woodall as Dr Dulcamara, Oshri Segev as Belcore, and Eleanor Westbrook as Adina’s friend, Gianetta.
Accompanying the cast in this production will be members of the Sussex Concert Orchestra, who continue their long association with Opera South East.
Read more about the cast here.
Cast your mind back to those sun-drenched beaches of the 1950s and enjoy the nostalgia of long ago!
Time advertised is start time