The timeless original rom-com, Elixir of Love, is returning to a Calgary stage for the first time in 30 years for four performances in February.

With the performances, Calgary Opera is aiming to give audiences an easily accessible way into the magic of opera, through what critics have called opera’s most heartwarming and lighthearted comedy.

Elixir of Love is the story of wealthy and beautiful Adina, who despite being desired by the clumsy but endearing Nemorino, has only affection for the handsome Belcore.

“It’s light and fun, bubbly and sparkly, and totally not lofty and what one would have in the back of their heads as an opera like horns on the head and screaming. It’s a really special, positive love story,” said soprano Simone Osborne, who is leading the performances as Adina.

“There are characters in this show that everyone can really connect to, and it’s just a really fun way to spend the night.”

That isn’t to say it won’t be the sumptuous experience that audiences have come to expect from the company—all of the sets, costumes, lighting, and on stage chorus that elevate Opera Calgary performances will also be present for Elixir of Love.

“It’s a very chorus-heavy show, which is actually really fun, because there’s so much more energy to work off of on stage. There’s just so much more action happening, so I think it’s definitely something Calgary audiences can look forward to when coming to the show,” said Nicole Leung, who as a member of the McPhee Artist Development Program, will also be playing Adina for the Feb. 4 performance.

Osborne said that the addition of the chorus on stage was incredible, and elevated the music in the show.

“If you think ‘well, I don’t like classical music,’ or, ‘I don’t know classical music,’ or, ‘I don’t know what to expect,’ this is the kind of show that no matter if you love heavy metal, if you love pop, or singer-songwriter stuff, you will literally leave the theatre humming melodies from the show,” she said.

“It’s fun, and memorable, and light, and exactly what you need before you step into minus 30 in Calgary on a February evening.”

Those melodies include classics like Una furtiva lagrima, which enchanted audiences at the original performances in Naples, and has been a staple of opera albums for decades.

One of opera’s most accessible performances

Eschewing the more fantasy elements of other operas, Elixir of Love is one of the shows in the international operatic repertoire from the opera buffa—or comic opera—genre that emphasizes a relatableness of everyday settings.

For Elixir of Love, the setting is a hotel in the Basque Country in the 1830s. It’s delivered in a way that has been throughout the long history of the opera and remained true to the original setting on some stages but has been equally re-imagined for contemporary eras.

“Our director mentioned that, of course, an Italian writer at that point wouldn’t actually have known what the best country looked like. So it’s a general sense of place, and the nice thing about that is that you get all of that fun; classical opera, big skirts for the women, and then corsets and fun hair and flowers all over the stage and stone archways. But we have a little bit more freedom, too, to not stick so specifically to that exact period of time in that exact town,” said Osborne.

“You’ll get some into some real individuality from the singers and really relatable, hopefully acting and performance of the piece. But you also get that lovely, traditional, beautiful operatic experience.”

Leung said that connection made the performances tug at the heartstrings in a way that’s still relevant to modern audiences close to 200 years later.

“There’s love, there’s jealousy, there’s moments of sadness. Those elements are things that we encounter on an everyday basis, I think that’s what makes the elixir of love so applicable,” she said.

The performances also mark the Canadian debuts of Conductor Farkhad Khudyev (Beethoven 250) and Director Pablo Maritano (Cachafaz, La Ciudad Ausente).

Elixir of Love plays at the Jubilee Auditorium on Feb. 3, 4, 7, and 9, with an additional 2 p.m. matinee on Feb. 4.

For more details, and tickets, see www.calgaryopera.com/23-24/elixir.