Summer lovin’ Italian style at the Sultan’s Pool in Jerusalem, as the Israeli Opera brings Gaetano Donizetti’s L’elisir d’amore (The Elixir of Love) to Jerusalem! Directed by Omri Nitzan, this is a lively, colorful production of the comic opera, to be performed under the stars, in view of the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem. The opera will be performed with the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra long weekend opera festival from June 24 – 28, 2015.
The amorous adventures of Adina and Nemorino may not be very politically correct, Adina scores a zero in feminism for being such a tease, but onstage – it’s a lot of fun to watch! At the press meeting held in the luxurious Waldorf Astoria in Jerusalem this week, Israeli Opera General Director Hannah Munitz said that this production of the opera is “Italian, but almost Israeli,” featuring “giant sunflowers dancing onstage, bicycles, vintage cars, haystacks… it has the feel of the kibbutz as it was 50 years ago.”
Munitz noted that in her travels to opera festivals throughout the world, “wherever there is an historic or archeological site, they establish an opera festival. So why not in Jerusalem?”
The opera festival will be the launch event of a five year project, one of many initiatives that have made Jerusalem a cultural hub in recent years. Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat stated, “Over the last five years we’ve been working very hard to create a number of anchor events in Jerusalem, the marathon, light festival … and the opera. Our goal is to create good opportunities for people to come and enjoy Jerusalem in many ways.”
The long weekend of opera will include intimate concerts in Jerusalem venues such as the Israel Museum, Museum for Islamic Art, and Bloomfield Science Museum, with opera, liturgical concerts, and concerts for the whole family. The opera festival is a collaborative project of the Jerusalem municipality’s tourism department, iTravelJerusalem, with the Tourism Ministry and the Israeli Opera.
Links: Israeli Opera website
