THE ELIXIR OF LOVE to Open The Dallas Opera's 2026/2027 Season
Soprano Soraya Mafi and tenor Anthony León lead a cast making house debuts under director Stephen Lawless.
The Dallas Opera (TDO) kicks off its 2026/2027 Season with a new-to-Dallas production of Gaetano Donizetti's THE ELIXIR OF LOVE on October 9, 2026, at the Winspear Opera House.
In Donizetti's beloved 1832 comic opera, a hopeless romantic swoons for the town's 'it girl,' but she doesn't even notice him. Along comes a traveling snake oil salesman with the perfect 'magical elixir' to give him all his heart desires. But this potion is not all it was promised to be.
'There is no warmer comedy in the operatic repertoire than The Elixir of Love,' director Stephen Lawless says. Inspired by Italian New Wave movies from the 1940s and 1950s, Lawless took a neo-realistic approach to this opera, setting it in post-World War II Italy. The guileless Nemorino becomes a car mechanic, Adina a schoolteacher, and Belcore an American G.I.
The entire principal cast makes their Dallas Opera house debut in this production. Leading the cast are British Iranian coloratura soprano Soraya Mafi as the heart-breaking Adina and 2022 Operalia winner Anthony León in his professional role debut as Nemorino. 2025 Operalia winner Mihai Damian is Belcore, and 2025 TDO Lone Star Vocal Competition First Place and People's Choice awards winner Kayla Nanto is Giannetta. Rounding out the cast is legendary Italian basso buffo Alessandro Corbelli.
Spanish conductor Guillermo García Calvo makes his house debut leading the cast and The Dallas Opera Orchestra and Chorus in the original score and libretto by Felice Romani, which will be sung in Italian with English supertitles.
'I am beyond excited to be making my debut at The Dallas Opera—and what a better way to arrive than with a love potion?' García Calvo says.
THE ELIXIR OF LOVE
- Opera in Two Acts by Gaetano Donizetti | Libretto by Felice Romani
- Production originally designed for and created by the Santa Fe Opera
PRODUCTION DATES
- Friday, October 9, 2026, at 8 PM (the Linda and Mitch Hart Season Opening Performance)
- Sunday, October 11, 2026, at 2 PM
- Wednesday, October 14, 2026, at 7:30 PM
- Saturday, October 17, 2026, at 7:30 PM
- Location: Winspear Opera House, 2403 Flora St. Dallas, Texas 75201
- The run time is approximately 2 hours and 30 minutes with one intermission. Tickets are available on TDO's website or by calling 214-443-1000.
- Language: Sung in Italian with projected English titles
CAST AND CREATIVE TEAM
Cast in Order of Vocal Appearance:
- ADINA — Soraya Mafi*
- NEMORINO — Anthony León*
- BELCORE — Mihai Damian*
- DR. DULCAMARA — Alessandro Corbelli*
- GIANNETTA — Kayla Nanto*
Creative Team:
- CONDUCTOR — Guillermo García Calvo*
- DIRECTOR — Stephen Lawless
- SET & Costume Designer — Ashley Martin-Davis
- LIGHTING DESIGNER — Thomas C. Hase
- WIG & MAKEUP DESIGNER — David Zimmerman
- CHORUS DIRECTOR — Paolo Bressan
ANCILLARY EVENTS
Opening Night Celebration: TDO celebrates the 2026/2027 Season's start on the opening night of THE ELIXIR OF LOVE on October 9, 2026. Open to all Oct. 9 ticketholders, the post-opera party will feature light bites, photo opportunities, a red carpet, and music in the Winspear Opera House lobby.
Crescendo Opening Night: TDO invites members of Crescendo, the company's Young Professionals program, to an Opening Night pre-opera mixer in the Winspear Opera House's Skyline Lounge. Beginning at 6:30 PM on October 9, opera aficionados ages 21 to 45 can enjoy light bites, drinks, and mingling. Learn more about Crescendo here.
Pre-Opera and Post-Opera Talks: The Dallas Opera hosts 25-minute informative lectures before each opera performance, beginning on Sunday, October 11. The Joy and Ronald Mankoff Pre-Opera Talk, which is free with your opera ticket, begins an hour before the performance in the Margaret McDermott Performance Hall. Award-winning baritone, director, teacher, and vocal coach Hank Hammett will host the Pre-Opera Talk for The Elixir of Love. Following the October 11 matinee, TDO staff will host a casual Q&A with the cast during the Post-Opera Talkback.
ABOUT THE DALLAS OPERA
One of the leading opera companies in the country, The Dallas Opera has an extraordinary legacy of world-class productions and thrilling premieres featuring the greatest operatic artists of our time. Inaugurated in 1957 with a concert featuring the incomparable Maria Callas, TDO is known for the notable U.S. debuts and appearances of a host of legendary artists including Plácido Domingo, Dame Joan Sutherland, Jon Vickers, Franco Zeffirelli, and Sir David McVicar. The company has long been an industry leader and innovator through groundbreaking initiatives including the Linda and Mitch Hart Institute for Women Conductors, free and low-cost digital streaming, public simulcasts, acclaimed art song recitals featuring poetry set to music, the National Vocal Competition, special concerts, and outstanding family and award-winning education programs. TDO's home is the Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House in the Dallas Arts District. As one of the largest performing arts employers in North Texas, TDO is proudly committed to diversity, both onstage and off, and is a major contributor to the economic vitality and international cultural reputation of this region.
Photo Credit: The Elixir of Love at Santa Fe Opera. c. Curtis Brown Photography
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