Opera ‘Elixir of Love’ wraps up Summer 2007 Music Festival Aug. 4

After nearly two months of preparation, the IU Opera will premier Gaetano Donizetti’s “The Elixir of Love,” also known as “L’Elisir d’Amore,” at 8 p.m. Friday in the Musical Arts Center.\nThe performances will be held July 27 and 28 and Aug. 3 and 4. This event will wrap up the Jacobs School of Music Summer 2007 Music Festival, which began June 17. The festival is meant to showcase various internationally renowned musicians along with Jacobs School of Music faculty and students.\nThe opera, according to the event program, is about a young Italian country boy who is trying to win the love of a well-to-do young farm owner, but is too shy to act upon his love. A doctor arrives in the village offering the “elixir of love” that can solve all of the town’s problems, and a comedic plot unfolds.\nThe cast consists of five main characters and about 30 chorus members, although the casts for the July 27 and Aug. 4 performances will be different than those for the July 28 and Aug. 3 performances.\n“My colleagues are all students, but they have been really talented, and it has been a pleasure working with all of them,” said Carl DuPont, who is playing the role of Dr. Dulcamara for the June 27 and Aug. 4 performances. “The conductor was very knowledgeable, as far as style. In a case like this, there are a lot of stylistic things that aren’t written in \nthe music.”\nDuPont said in order to prepare for their roles, cast members were sent through various stages of preparation, including language classes with an Italian language instructor from Rome, voice lessons and learning stage directions.\n“It’s exhausting trying to get everything just right,” DuPont said. “ But at the same time, it’s very thrilling. When it does come together, it’s palpable and you are able to see (the audience’s) responses.”\nGuest director Andrew Sinclair has been working with the cast to perfect the performance. Sinclair won an Emmy Award at the 1989 International Television Emmy Awards.\n“Andrew Sinclair has been a lot of fun to work with. He’s giving us, his actors, a lot of freedom, which has been really great,” DuPont said. “He’s really inspired some good drama from us.”\nWhat sets this particular opera apart from most others is its comedic plot, something that has proved enjoyable for the performers.\n“I have a comedic role, and I am one of the only real comedic characters in the opera,” DuPont said. “It’s just great when you can make people laugh and when you can act a fool and have people appreciate it.”\nGeneral admission tickets are $20, and student tickets are $12.