"His [Tom Boyd's] Elixir libretto fits the music like a glove...very entertaining". (the OXFORD TIMES)

"Twice as witty as Gilbert and Sullivan ...should have you chuckling all the way home. Tom Boyd's production works a treat. (The Gloucestershire ECHO)

"The Elixir of Love is a comedy that actually makes people laugh...Tom Boyd's lyrics are witty and inventive". (Wilts and Gloucestershire STANDARD)

Tom Boyd has set this English version in Sistiana, an Italian fishing village on the Adriatic Sea near Trieste in 1914 when the area was still part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The action takes place in the piazza dominated by BAR ADINA where Nemorino is employed a waiter by its comely proprietress. Turgid recits have been replaced by snappy witty dialogue. in compliance with Boyd's belief that a comic opera must be genuinely funny for modern audiences and needs all the jokes it can muster. This version was performed by Bel Canto Opera in Gloucestershire in 2003 has by Stanley Opera in Leicestershire in April 2008. Below are video clips from the two productions.

 

ACT I - The waiter confesses his love for his boss

ACT I - Sgt Belcore woos and wins the ladies

 

 

ACT I - Doctor Dulcamara peddles his miracle cures

 

ACT II - Adina and Dr Dulcamara entertain the wedding guests with a saucy duet

 

ACT II -Sgt Belcore signs Nemorino up as a foot soldier

 

 

ACT II - Giannetta discloses her secret

 

 

 

 ACT II - Adina's and Dulcamara's final duet

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