A masterly score in which the tenor gives a rendition of the famous aria “Una furtiva lagrima”

Nemorino is a man in love, ingenuously in love. His role lies on the borderline between comedy and drama and calls for a special type of singer to convey the delicate equilibrium.

L’elisir d’amore (Milan, 1832), one of Gaetano Donizetti's best loved operas, marked a step forward in the evolution of opera buffa by enabling comic characters to show emotions and feelings as well.  Set in a small, idyllic village, it relates the miseries of Nemorino –- a poor, bashful peasant enamoured of Adina, a wealthy, capricious landowner -- till the happy ending is reached. The action gets underway with the arrival of a detachment of soldiers commanded by the swaggering sergeant Belcore arrives, and that of the devious charlatan Dulcamara. Then Nemorino buys a love potion in a bid to win back Adina's love.

Opera in two acts. Libretto by Felice Romani. Music by Gaetano Donizetti. First performed at the Teatro della Canobbiana in Milan on 12 May 1832. First performance at the Gran Teatre del Liceu on 5 February 1848.