PLEASE NOTE: The start/end date above is NOT the event date. This event will be held Feb. 22-23.

JOHNSON CITY (Posted Feb. 11, 2013) – The “love potion.” Many songs and stories have been written about it, and one of those – Gaetano Donizetti’s opera, “The Elixir of Love” – is coming to East Tennessee State University Friday and Saturday, Feb. 22-23.

Under the direction of Karen Smith, ETSU Department of Music Opera Workshop director, the student cast will present Donald Pippin’s English translation of this popular opera in a 1940s setting, with an orchestra led by ETSU Choral Director Dr. Alan Stevens.

“The Elixir of Love” is a lighthearted rendition of the classic “boy loves girl and will do anything to make her love him” story, according to Smith.

“Cheap wine as the ‘elixir’ makes for many comedic moments, but the famous aria, ‘Una furtiva lagrima,’ will remind everyone that the beauty of the voice is unlike any ‘potion’ prescribed by man,” she said.

The cast of “The Elixir of Love” includes ETSU students Tatum Spears, Weber City, Va., as Adina; John Overholt, Newport, as Nemorino; Kelsey Holmes (Feb. 22), Glade Spring, Va., and Laura Jordan (Feb. 23), Johnson City, as Giannetta; John Bell, Jefferson City, as Belcore; and Paka Cordiero, Kealakekua, Hawaii, as Dr. Dulcamara. Members of the chorus include Zach Kiser, Bristol; Sarah Wallace, Clarksville; Brandon Blevins, Elizabethton; Jeremiah Bales and Meghan Hawkins, Greeneville; Alec Castro, Justin Donegan, Hannah Lamb and Kiersten Turner, Johnson City; Aricela Reyes, Jonesborough; Sean Johnson, Telford; Seth O’Kegley, Fredericksburg, Va.; and Aaron Pritchard, Manassas, Va.

Performances begin at 7:30 p.m. both nights in the D.P. Culp University Center’s Martha Street Culp Auditorium. Tickets are $10 for general admission and $5 for seniors and students with ID.

For more information or special assistance for those with disabilities, call the ETSU Department of Music at (423) 439-4276.