The first time I saw an opera, I was sitting in the far rear of balcony seating, watching Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s “Don Giovanni” unfold entirely in Italian. I did not speak Italian. I was too far away from the stage to read the subtitles that the production had so kindly provided for the tragically monolingual. I had no idea what was going on. Everyone on stage seemed angry, or aroused, or some combination of both. I clapped when other people clapped. I fell asleep once. I left with many questions.
Madeleine Snow, the director of Boulder Opera Company’s new Family Series production, had a very different experience seeing her first opera.
Snow’s introduction into opera was “The Elixir of Love” as a high school student, and evidently she could understand what was happening. “This piece has a very special place in my heart,” Snow said. “It’s hilarious, and I think it’s the perfect first opera for people who’ve never experienced the art form before. It’s light, it’s funny, and it shows how accessible opera can be.”
Now, years later, she’s directing a new version of “The Elixir of Love” that’s designed to make first-time operagoers feel like they belong from the moment they walk in the door, even for those seated way in the back row.
On Nov. 15 and 16, families, children, opera novices, budding aficionados or anyone looking for a good laugh and aria-induced goosebumps are invited to the Dairy Arts Center to see Boulder Opera’s staging of Gaetano Donizetti’s comedy.
Performances take place Saturday at 2 and 5 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m., with tickets running $30 for adults and $20 for children, students and seniors. While the original production runs about two and a half hours, Snow has adapted this opera to run only one hour, creating a bite-sized taste of what the art form is all about.
The production also features new narration to link scenes and clarify the story, something Snow attributed to the company’s focus on accessibility. The opera is sung in Italian, and audiences follow along with supertitles, which she compared to watching a foreign film: you see the action unfold onstage while the translations keep the story clear.
The cast includes about a dozen performers, including two members of the company’s Teen Ensemble.
“We really want everyone to have a wonderful experience, whether it’s their first time going to the opera or they’re an aficionado, that they feel welcome and have a great time in the theater,” she said.
The story of “The Elixir of Love” centers on Nemorino, a painfully shy but sweet young man who is hopelessly in love with Adina, a smart, confident woman who doesn’t quite take him seriously.
When a traveling quack doctor rolls into town selling a “love potion” (which is really just cheap wine), Nemorino buys it, thinking it will make Adina fall for him. Through a mix of misunderstandings, jealousy and well-timed coincidences, Adina realizes she loves him, and the two end up together: a tidy, 18th-century example of the placebo effect.
According to Snow, the magic of directing and adapting this production hinges on brisk pacing, physical comedy and straightforward storytelling. She leans into the expressive nature of Donizetti’s characters, playing up the exaggerated swagger of Dr. Dulcamara and the romantic tug of war between Nemorino and Adina.
For Snow, the humor is what makes this opera such an easy entry point for first timers. “It is short, it is fast paced, and it is so much fun,” she said. “There are big characters, laugh out loud moments, and a really sweet romance at the center of it.”
Snow didn’t begin her career in the director’s chair. She grew up performing mostly in musical theater, until a high school vocal program pulled her toward classical music. By the time she reached college, she knew she wanted to pursue opera, and she landed in a fully student-run company where the conductors, directors, designers and performers were all undergraduates.
After finishing school on the East Coast, she moved to Colorado four years ago and quickly found her way to Boulder Opera, first assisting on a holiday staging of “Hansel and Gretel,” then returning the next season to direct “The Magic Flute.” Since then, she has worked with Opera Colorado, Central City Opera and Loveland Opera, while also performing as a studio artist with Arizona Opera during its season in Phoenix.
That background is part of why Boulder Opera’s Teen Ensemble means so much to her. She remembers how formative it was to encounter opera up close and how much she wished she’d had hands-on access when she was younger.
“I was very involved with musical theater, but I think there’s something really special about an opera experience like this as a teen,” she said. “Getting to see the really talented adults in our community, many of whom are professional singers, getting to watch them and work alongside them and learn from them.”
The Teen Ensemble gives young singers a chance to rehearse challenging music, learn Italian text, build characters and share the stage with seasoned performers and a live orchestra.
That community focus carried into this week’s school performances, where Boulder Opera performed “The Elixir of Love” for elementary students.
“They loved it,” Snow said. “Kids are such a responsive opera audience. And so at the beginning of each performance, I sort of welcome them, and I ask them if it’s their first opera, and a lot of them raise their hands. And then we teach them how to say ‘bravo’ at the end of an aria. And so they get so excited to yell ‘bravo’ after every scene.”
For anyone coming this weekend, Snow hopes audiences show up ready to engage. “I would say, come in with excitement,” she said. “We are so excited to have an audience that is responsive to the story and will laugh out loud at moments that they find funny, and clap when they appreciate beautiful music.”
A post-show Q&A will follow each performance, and the cast will head to the lobby in costume for a brief meet-and-greet, a chance, Snow said, “to get to know the artists who create the beautiful art that you’ll get to see on stage.”
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