"Perhaps it's #8..."
The Elixir of Love
Opera Company of Philadelphia
Academy of Music
Broad and Locust streets
Through October 28
Various times and prices
(215) 732-8400
Apparently, Love Potion Number 9 was not a swanky enough title for composer Gaetano Donizetti. Yes, the arias are in Italian, but even a simpleton could follow the action. A naive country fellow named Nemorino sets out to woo fair maiden Adina with the help of a love potion. The love potion is actually a bottle of wine, and surprise of all surprises, the drunk-and-disheveled tactic proves unsuccessful for our young hero. Of course, more complications arise, but a happy ending is self-evident. It's a comedy, so feel free to laugh out loud--no one will know if you're laughing at yourself for not understanding the words or at the outrageous costumes and makeup. Perhaps you may even chortle at the singers, who never fail to possess more years than the script calls for. Nothing is more elitist than an opera, but hey, it's culture. And despite their worldly veneers, odds are that more than half of the Society Hill audience members surrounding you can't speak a word of Italian beyond ciao.
Elio Villafranco and The Latin Voyage Quintet w/Jane Bunnett
Painted Bride Arts Center
230 Vine Street
8 p.m. and 10 p.m., $22
(215) 925-9914
Can't anyone make up his or her mind? Villafranco and his Quintet row their way over to the Bride, with their musical mixture of jazz and the sounds of Latin America, the Caribbean and Africa. And, oh no, focusing on one instrument would be too hard. They have to display their talents on piano, trumpet, drums, percussion and bass--not to mention the aid of Bunnett's saxophone. Multi-talented bastards.
