Elisir d’amore, L’, is an opera in two acts by the Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti (see Donizetti, Gaetano ). Its title means “the elixir of love” or “the love potion.” The libretto (text) was written in Italian by Felice Romano. It was based on the French text of an opera by Daniel Auber, which had been staged in 1831. The first performance of L’Elisir d’amore took place at the Teatro della Canobbiana in Milan on May 12, 1832.
The action of the opera takes place in a village in Tuscany, northern Italy, in the early 1800’s. A shy youth named Nemorino is in love with Adina, but she appears to be more interested in Belcore, a soldier. Nemorino buys a love potion from Dulcamara, a quack (fake doctor). Adina is annoyed by Nemorino’s apparent indifference and decides to marry Belcore. Nemorino is convinced that the potion will take effect in another day and begs her to wait, but she refuses. Nemorino immediately joins the army and uses his enlistment bonus to buy another bottle of the love potion. Suddenly, he finds himself surrounded by village maidens—not because the potion is working but because (unknown to him) there is a rumor that his uncle has died, leaving him a large legacy. A jealous Adina realizes she loves Nemorino after all, buys him out of the army, and marries him. Meanwhile, Dulcamara makes good use of the “success” of the potion and has customers lining up to purchase it.
