Oper

Gaetano Donizetti

L'elisir d'amore

Melodramma giocoso in zwei Akten

Text Felice Romani

3 Termine

L'elisir d'amore

Cast at Monday 17. March 2025

Musikalische Leitung

Inszenierung

Otto Schenk

Bühne und Kostüme

Area 1 220 €
Area 1

220 €

Area 2 175 €
Area 2

175 €

Area 3 140 €
Area 3

140 €

Area 4 100 €
Area 4

100 €

Area 5 76 €
Area 5

76 €

Area 6 52 €
Area 6

52 €

Area 7 36 €
Area 7

36 €

Area 8 25 €
Area 8

25 €

Area 9 15 €
Area 9

15 €

Standing room
Standing room

U27   Included in: Subscription 13
Subscription 13

Season 2024/2025

Choose a day of the week and your favorite seats and enjoy five performances in one season.

The following performances are included in this subscription:

09. September 2024: LA TRAVIATA
04. November 2024: MADAMA BUTTERFLY
13. January 2025: TURANDOT
24. Febuary 2025: BALLET: DIE KAMELIENDAME
17. March 2025: L’ELISIR D’AMORE

L'elisir d'amore

Cast at Wednesday 19. March 2025

Musikalische Leitung

Inszenierung

Otto Schenk

Bühne und Kostüme

Area 1 220 €
Area 1

220 €

Area 2 175 €
Area 2

175 €

Area 3 140 €
Area 3

140 €

Area 4 100 €
Area 4

100 €

Area 5 76 €
Area 5

76 €

Area 6 52 €
Area 6

52 €

Area 7 36 €
Area 7

36 €

Area 8 25 €
Area 8

25 €

Area 9 15 €
Area 9

15 €

Standing room
Standing room

Included in: Subscription 9
Subscription 9

Season 2024/2025

Choose a day of the week and your favorite seats and enjoy five performances in one season.

The following performances are included in this subscription:

04. December 2024: IL RITORNO D’ULISSE IN PATRIA
19. March 2025: L’ELISIR D’AMORE
23. April 2025: PARSIFAL
21. May 2025: IL TROVATORE
18. June 2025: BALLET: MAHLER, LIVE
 

L'elisir d'amore

Cast at Friday 21. March 2025

Musikalische Leitung

Inszenierung

Otto Schenk

Bühne und Kostüme

Area 1 220 €
Area 1

220 €

Area 2 175 €
Area 2

175 €

Area 3 140 €
Area 3

140 €

Area 4 100 €
Area 4

100 €

Area 5 76 €
Area 5

76 €

Area 6 52 €
Area 6

52 €

Area 7 36 €
Area 7

36 €

Area 8 25 €
Area 8

25 €

Area 9 15 €
Area 9

15 €

Standing room
Standing room

Included in: Subscription 5
Subscription 5

Season 2024/2025

Choose a day of the week and your favorite seats and enjoy five performances in one season.

The following performances are included in this subscription:

18. October 2024: COSÌ FAN TUTTE
17. January 2025: TURANDOT
21. March 2025: L’ELISIR D’AMORE
11. April 2025: BALLET: PATHÉTIQUE
23. May 2025: NORMA

Short Summary

The penniless and insecure Nemorino loves the rich and well-read Adina.

To win her over, he buys a love potion from the quack doctor Dulcamara - in reality a bottle of wine. But of course it is not the wine that ensures a happy ending, but his loving heart - and Adina's.

Storyline

The young tenant farmer Adina, young, rich and well-read, is idolized by the penniless and insecure Nemorino.

During a break in her work, she recites the story of Tristan and Isolde and the wonderful love potion to the villagers, not without irony. Sergeant Belcore moves in and takes up quarters with his soldiers. He immediately courts Adina and confidently demands her love. But she evades him and asks for patience.

When Nemorino courts her, she rejects him: love is just a game for her and she wants to remain unattached from now on. The quack doctor Dulcamara arrives and praises his skills to the people. Nemorino takes heart and asks the miracle doctor for the famous love potion. Dulcamara sees through the situation and sells the coveted elixir - in reality a bottle of wine - to the grateful Nemorino for all his cash. Not without pointing out to Nemorino that the supposed potion only works after 24 hours (i.e. after Dulcamara has already left the village).

Nemorino immediately tastes the drug - and his mood improves. He becomes more confident with Adina and pretends that he is no longer interested in her. Now she can woo him. This sudden change of heart is not to Adina's liking either. She wants to find out whether Nemorino's feelings have really grown cold and declares without further ado that she wants to marry Belcore on the spot. Nemorino is completely flabbergasted. This is not how he imagined the love potion would work.

The wedding is being prepared, but Adina delays the conclusion of the marriage contract.

In desperation, Nemorino asks Dulcamara for a second bottle of the miracle elixir. As he has no more money, Belcore recruits him as a soldier and procures another bottle for the hand money he receives. The supposed love potion works unexpectedly quickly:

Nemorino is flattered by a whole host of girls. However, he does not suspect the true background to their affection: Giannetta has spread the hitherto secret news that Nemorino's wealthy uncle has died and named him as his sole heir. Nemorino finds the girls' company extremely pleasant and pretends to ignore Adina, which arouses her jealousy. She finally finds out from Dulcamara why Nemorino has allowed himself to be recruited.

When the quack offers her the love potion, she refuses: she knows a more effective way to win over Nemorino, to whom she is devoted after all: her eyes. She pays Belcore back the hand money, uses it to buy Nemorino's freedom and confesses her love for him. Her happiness in love is accompanied by financial happiness: Nemorino and Adina find out about the inheritance. Finally, Dulcamara takes advantage of the situation: he boasts about his art, thanks to which Nemorino has achieved both his happiness in love and his fortune.

Act 1 70 MIN
Intermission 25 MIN
Act 2 50 MIN

»When you talk about Otto Schenk's work, the key message is probably that he was always concerned with people. With compassion, with a loving but also critical eye. But above all, for all his education, knowledge and intellectuality, he was completely open-minded. He preferred to work with a sensuality of life and the characters that ultimately defined his theater.« (Diana Kienast, former head stage manager of the Vienna State Opera and long-time collaborator of Otto Schenk)

»I would be very happy if I had composed the love potion.« (Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy)

Donizetti celebrated one of his greatest and most lasting successes with L'Elisir d'Amore - even if the circumstances of its creation had led him to expect anything but a triumph: in mid-April 1832, the management of Milan's Teatro della Canobbiana had desperately turned to Donizetti, who was known to work quickly, with a request for an opera because another composer had backed out at short notice. In fact, Donizetti and librettist Felice Romani created a new two-act opera, L'Elisir d'Amore, within a very short space of time - the literature always mentions "within two weeks". And unlike many other popular operas in music history today, the work had no initial difficulties with audiences: from its premiere on May 12, 1832, L'Elisir d 'Amore was a hit with audiences and was soon performed in countless opera houses in Italy and abroad.

© Wiener Staatsoper
© Wiener Staatsoper
© Wiener Staatsoper
© Wiener Staatsoper
© Wiener Staatsoper
© Wiener Staatsoper
© Wiener Staatsoper
© Wiener Staatsoper
© Wiener Staatsoper
© Wiener Staatsoper

FAQ

Tickets for our standing room can be purchased online or at the Bundestheater box office from 10 am on the day of the performance. BundestheaterCard holders can book standing room tickets online the day before the performance.

In addition, a fixed contingent of standing room tickets is available for regular evening performances from 80 minutes before the start of the performance at our standing room box office (Operngasse entrance).

Our operas are sung in the original languages - these vary depending on the work.

At each seat, subtitles in different languages can be switched on or off via a separate subtitle screen. In addition to the original language of the opera, you can choose from up to eight languages: German, English, Italian, French, Russian, Japanese, Spanish, Chinese (Mandarin).

In the event of a change of performance, you can of course return or exchange your tickets.

As changes to the cast cannot be ruled out due to illnesses or other hindrances of artists, there is no entitlement to a refund of the ticket price or exchange in this case.

Tickets cannot be returned or exchanged if you are not admitted to the auditorium due to being late (even after the interval).

About Your Visit

Cloakroom

The cloakrooms are located next the the entrances at the Operngasse. You can find additional cloakrooms on the left and right side of the balcony and the gallery and in the boxes. All cloakrooms are free of charge.

Be on Time

We kindly ask you to arrive on time for the performances. Latecomers can only be admitted during the intermission. After the intermission, re-entry will not be possible.

Food and Drink

Our gastronomy opens at the same time entry is permitted. You can enjoy some snacks and drinks before the performance starts or you can book a table for the break.

Practical Information

You can find more practical information regarding your visit (e.g. Dresscode, barrier-free-access, …) here.

 

Discounts, Subscriptions, Cycles

Discounts

The Vienna State Opera offers the following discounts:

  • Under 27
  • Children- & Youth-Tickets
  • BundestheaterCard
  • Ballett-Bonus
  • Ö1-Club
  • Culture Pass »Hunger auf Kunst und Kultur«
  • Disability ID
More info

Subscriptions

Choose a week-day and your favorite seat and enjoy five performances.

  • 4x Opera, 1x Ballet
  • spread out over the whole season
  • up to 30 % discount compared to the regular ticket price
More info

Cycles

Buy multiple performances as a package!

  • big selection of different cycles
  • bundled together by composers, artists or topics
  • spread out over the whole season
  • up to 10 % discount compared to the regular ticket price
More info