Aleksandra Kurzak & Vittorio Grigolo to Star in Met Opera's L'ELISIR D'AMORE

Donizetti's L'Elisir d'Amore returns to the Met stage on March 10 starring Polish soprano Aleksandra Kurzak and Italian tenor Vittorio Grigolo as the two young lovers, Adina and Nemorino. Italian conductor Enrique Mazzola makes his company debut leading performances of Bartlett Sher's 2012 staging. Alessandro Corbelli sings the role of Dulcamara, the loveable con man who sells the "magic elixir" of love, along with Adam Plachetka as the sergeant Belcore, who attempts to court Adina. Mario Chang and Pietro Spagnoli sing the last two performances on April 2 and 7 as Nemorino and Dulcamara respectively.

Aleksandra Kurzak has previously sung Adina at the Vienna State Opera, Gran Teatre del Liceu, Palau de les Arts in Valencia, the Bavarian State Opera, and Royal Opera, Covent Garden. She made her company debut in 2004 as Olympia in Offenbach's Les Contes d'Hoffmann and has also sung Blondchen in Mozart's Die Entführung aus dem Serail, Gilda in Verdi's Rigoletto, and Gretel in Humperdinck's Hansel and Gretel with the company. Her other performances this season include Eudoxie in Halévy's La Juive at the Bavarian State Opera and in the title role of Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor at the Royal Opera, Covent Garden.

Vittorio Grigolo makes his Met role debut as Nemorino after previously singing the role at the Berlin State Opera, La Scala, and Royal Opera, Covent Garden. He made his company debut in 2010 starring as Rodolfo in Puccini's La Bohème followed by performances as the Duke in Rigoletto, and last season as the title character in Les Contes d'Hoffmann and des Grieux in Massenet's Manon. Next season at the Met, he can be seen starring as Roméo in the new production premiering on New Year's Eve of Roméo et Juliette opposite Diana Damrau, as well as in the title role of Massenet's Werther.

Adam Plachetka adds a new role to his repertory as Belcore. He made his Met debut last season as Masetto in Mozart's Don Giovanni and will reprise the role, as well as Leporello during the 2016-17 season at the Met. Later this year, Plachetka can be seen singing Dr. Malatesta in Donizetti's Don Pasquale, the title role of Don Giovanni, the Herald in Wagner's Lohengrin, and Paolo Albiani in Verdi's Simon Boccanegra at the Vienna State Opera; Figaro in Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro at the Salzburg Festival; and Papageno in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte at the Lyric Opera of Chicago.

Alessandro Corbelli first sang the role of Dulcamara at the Met during the 2011-12 season, in addition to singing the role at the Bavarian State Opera, Houston Grand Opera, and San Francisco Opera. He made his Met debut as Dandini in Rossini's La Cenerentola followed by performances as Taddeo in Rossini's L'Italiana in Algeri, the title role of Puccini's Gianni Schicchi, Sulpice in Donizetti's La Fille du Régiment, and Don Magnifico in La Cenerentola. Later this year, he will star as Bartolo in Rossini's Il Barbiere di Siviglia at the Glyndebourne Festival and Michonnet in Cilea's Adriana Lecouvreur at the Teatro di San Carlo.

Mario Chang sings the role of Nemorino for the first time on stage after previously singing the role in selections from L'Elisir d'Amore with the Met and Juilliard scenes program conducted by James Levine. As a Lindemann Young Artist, he made his Met debut as the Fourth Esquire in Wagner's Parsifal during the 2012-13 season followed by his role as the Singer in Strauss's Der Rosenkavalier. His other notable credits include reprising the Singer in Der Rosenkavalier, Cassio in Verdi's Otello, and Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor at the Frankfurt Opera, and later this season, he can be seen as Rodolfo in La Bohème at the Los Angeles Opera.

Pietro Spagnoli makes his Met role debut as Dulcamara and has sung the role previously at the Teatro Municipal in Santiago and Vienna State Opera. He made his Met debut during the 2013-14 season as Dandini in La Cenerentola. Later this season, he will sing Mustafa in L'Italiana in Algeri at the Théâtre du Capitole de Toulouse and Prosdocimo in Rossini's Il Turco in Italia at the Rossini Opera Festival.

Enrique Mazzola makes his company debut conducting L'Elisir d'Amore. As the Artistic and Music Director of Orchestre National d'Ile de France (ONDIF), he has also conducted at various opera houses around the world including Deutsche Oper Berlin, Zurich Opera, the Bolshoi Theatre, La Scala, Opera du Rhin, Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, as well as the Glyndebourne Festival, Orange Festival, and Munich Opera Festival. Later this year, he can be seen conducting ll Barbiere di Siviglia at the Glyndebourne Festival and Lucia di Lammermoor at the Lyric Opera of Chicago.

L'Elisir d'Amore Fun Facts

L'Elisir d'Amore was originally composed by Donizetti in six weeks and like many of his other works, he made many revisions and edits to the libretto. The most recognized change was the addition of the aria "Una furtiva lagrima" and the duet between Adina and Nemorino in the first act, "Chiedi all'aura lusinghiera." Through these additions, the story became more romantic and tied to his personal life: Donizetti's military service was bought by a wealthy woman so that he did not have to serve in the Austrian army.

L'Elisir d'Amore has been staged 284 times at the Met since the company premiere in 1904. Famous sopranos who have sung the role of Adina include Anna Netrebko, Renata Scotto, and Dawn Upshaw, and famous tenors who have sung the role of Nemorino include José Carreras, Enrico Caruso, and Luciano Pavarotti, who has sung the role a record 49 times with the company.

L'Elisir d'Amore Radio Broadcasts

The March 19 and April 7 performances of L'Elisir d'Amore will be broadcast live on Metropolitan Opera Radio on SIRIUS XM Channel 74. The performance on March 10 will also be streamed live on the Met's website, www.metopera.org.

The March 19 matinee performance will be broadcast live over the Toll Brothers-Metropolitan Opera International Radio Network.

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