The Elixir of Love (2019)

 Assistant Director/Production Coordinator

Photos by Denis Ryan Kelly, Jr.

Performance & Production Credits

Producer: David Starkey (Indianapolis Opera)

Director: Scott Parry

Conductor: Alfred Savia

Scenic Designer: Jim Schumacher

Lighting Designer: Quinten James

Costumes: Opera Utah & Costume Curio (Greenville, SC)

Technical Director: Troy Trinkle

Stage Manager: Philip Christiansen

Assistant Stage Managers: Adrienne Bader, Kathy Hoefgen

Nemorino: Jesus Garcia

Adina: Ashley Fabian

Dulcamara: Gary Simpson

Belcore: Ethan Vincent

Gianetta: Katherine Fili

Elixir of Love + Lucca, Italy

Turn of the Century + Indianapolis

Donizetti’s L’elisir d’amore was the opening production of Indianapolis Opera’s 2019-20 season. Director Scott Parry and Producer David Starkey set the opera in the turn of the century in Lucca Italy, which influenced the architectural style of the buildings and the fashion of the various costumes provided by Opera Utah and Costume Curio. The story’s setting was partially inspired by the life story of Indianapolis racing legend Mario Andretti, whose family stayed in Lucca as refugees later in the 1940’s. The production also built a relationship with the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum in order to bring an authentic 1909 Maxwell on the stage, as Dulcamara and his sidekick enter the story after running out of gas on the road. Indy Car driver Zach Veach performed this walk-on role as Dulcamara’s assistant, and helped tie the history and legacy of racing and Indianapolis to this production.

This was my second time working with Scott Parry as an assistant, and it was evident how masterful he was with the comedic material one has on hand with this opera. He found so many ways to actively tell the story rather than allowing singers to passively perform the music on stage. I had several experiences directing scenes from ‘Elixir’ in the past in Indianapolis and San Diego, but Parry opened my eyes to various ways to make the scene as lively as possible in this bel canto classic.

The cast were excellent in their roles from top to bottom. Both Jesus Garcia and Ashley Fabian had performed their roles before, and brought nuance and flexibility with both of their interpretations. Ethan Vincent was new to the role of Belcore, but understood the rigidity of the sergeant and his focused pursuit of Adina. Gary Simpson was a captivating Dulcamara, and had a seasoned sense of stock comedy characters like the one he played. Katherine Fili, one of the resident artists I worked with as the Resident Assistant Director, made her Indianapolis debut with Gianetta. Her ability to balance characterization, focus, and stage business was extremely admirable and should be a good indication for the future. The cast and chorus were led by Maestro Alfred Savia, who did a great job of coordinating the musical forces and managing a three-day performance weekend.

My main contributions toward this production came as a production coordinator rather than as a traditional assistant director. Between the partnership with the museum, our two costume providers, and a fairly prop-heavy show, there was a lot more to monitor than in past productions. The car was a particularly interesting challenge, since we had to figure out how to deliver the car from the museum to the theater and bring in it at the dock level, which required a separate towing service to help do the job. Despite all this, the stress of coordination didn’t seem to catch up with me as strongly as it had in the past, because I knew I could count on my experience and the team that I had worked with before and been a part of for a season.