Director Harry Fehr makes his English National Opera debut this season with a vibrant new staging of Donizetti’s The Elixir of Love (L’elisir d’amore). The production opens at the London Coliseum on November 15 with additional performances on November 20, 23 (matinee), 27, 30, December 3 and 5 (matinee).

In this inventive adaptation, set amidst the height of World War II,  Fehr reframes Donizetti’s opera buffa as a charming 1940s TV sitcom. Against the picturesque backdrop of an English country estate populated by Land Girls and locals, the story of unrequited love unfolds with the arrival of a charismatic love potion salesman. Fehr reunites with set designer Nicky Shaw and costume designer Zahara Mansouri, following their acclaimed collaboration of La Sonnambula at the 2023 Buxton Festival. Critics praised that production’s “clever touches” and noted Fehr’s success in balancing comedy and pathos, calling it “profoundly moving and, at times, “extremely funny” (**** The Stage). Also joining Fehr’s creative team are Mark Jonathan (Lighting Designer), Anjali Mehra (Movement Director), and Matt Powell (Video Designer) with Teresa Riveiro Böhm conducting.