In this version of L'ELISIR D'AMORE the image of every character is based on Botero’s painting and is brought to life through the great music of Donizetti. 

all these elements defining the characters of this opera too. In the score the opera is called a “playful opera” and totally conforms to the comic opera tradition. Donizetti through the music of L'ELISIR D'AMORE brings us to the magic and parallel world of Botero, where the funny story of naive young pesant Nemorino, his sweetheart Adina and charlatan Dulcamara will be played in the colourful circus.

Act 1

Scene 1
Nemorino, a young poor peasant, is watching Adina, a beautiful and wealthy farm owner, who is sitting among her harvesters and reading. Nemorino is desperate; she is so beautiful, so educated and so unavailable. At the request of the workers Adina reads aloud to them about how brave Tristan has gained the love of beautiful Isolde with a magic elixir. Nemorino decides that he urgently needs such a potion.


To the sound of drums a troop of soldiers led by Sergeant Belcore marches into the village. Belcore promptly presents Adina with a bouquet of flowers and without further ado asks her to marry him. Adina promises to think about it. A frightened Nemorino quickly declares his love for her too but Adina replies that he should waste no time in dreaming for love in the village and should return to the city to take care of his sick uncle.
 
Scene 2
In the meantime a wandering quack, Dulcamara, arrives in the village and offers "miraculous balsams" to the villagers. Nemorino asks shyly whether he has a similar love potion to that described in Adina’s book. Dulcamara assures him that he has and sells him a bottle of Bordeaux wine. Nemorino pays for this "magic drink" with his last ducat and downs it hastily. Dulcamara, however, explains that it will take at least a day to work – by which time the swindler hopes be far away.
 
Adina is surprised. Nemorino has suddenly changed – he is joking, laughing, cheering, and is not even looking at her. The angry woman in turn flirts with Belcore and, as the garrison must leave the village immediately, agrees to marry him. An anxious Nemorino asks Adina to wait for at least one day and incurs Belcore’s wrath. To ease the tension Adina invites the villagers home to celebrate the engagement.
 
 
Act 2
 
Scene 1
The party has long begun but Adina is irritated since it was her intention to sign the marriage contract in front of Nemorino, but he has not come to the party. So she decides to postpone the wedding until the evening.
 
In desperation Nemorino asks Dulcamara how to make the potion work faster. The swindler responds that it is only possible by increasing the dose, but if the boy wants another bottle he will obviously have to pay for it. Nemorino, with nothing in his pockets, is obliged to take up his rival, Belcore's, proposal to enlist in the army. For this he receives twenty scudi and immediately rushes off to buy a second bottle of the elixir.
 
Scene 2
All of a sudden the villagers learn the news that Nemorino’s uncle from the city has died and left him a big inheritance. The young man knows nothing about this and so, when he comes back after drinking the second bottle, and all the girls surround him, it seems to him that the elixir has finally begun to work.
 
Adina, who blames herself for Nemorino’s enlisting in the army, sees him surrounded by the girls and is jealous. Dulcamara boasts to the woman about the magical power of his love elixir and suggests Adina try it herself. But Adina is confident in her own powers.
 
Nemorino, surrounded by the girls, sees tears in Adina's eyes and believes that she is in love with him. Adina tells him that she has bought back his army papers. As she leaves she tells him that if he stays in the village he will be loved. Nemorino, however, believes she is abandoning him and vows to remain in the army.
 
Finally, Adina admits that she is in love with Nemorino. Belcore enters unexpectedly and, seeing the couple together, says that there are thousands of women in this world who dream only of his love. The villagers queue up to buy Dulcamara’s elixir before he heads off to conquer new horizons.