‘Elixir’ a tasty concoction, as served by Opera Pacific

Opera Pacific has a hit on its hands with Donizetti’s 1832 comic opera, “The Elixir of Love.” The production, which opened a four-performance run Wednesday at the Orange County Performing Arts Center, is funny, sensitive and captivating, and there’s at least one emerging star in the cast: William Burden as the bumbling hero, Nemorino.

British opera director Jonathan Miller created the production for the Royal Opera in Stockholm in 2004. He changed the setting from an Italian village to a West Texas diner in the 1950s, and the change works easily.

The production was presented in October by New York City Opera, where A. Scott Parry, who has directed it in Costa Mesa, served as Miller’s assistant. Parry, according to an Opera Pacific spokesman, has put his own imprint on the staging and also created the idiomatic supertitles.

The jokes -- whether Parry’s or Miller’s -- are natural and unpredictable and won’t be given away here. They grow out of exactly what each of the characters might do, and they cheerfully reinforce the action. The charm actually starts when all these ‘50s American characters, dressed like the Fonz and his “Happy Days” friends, open their mouths and sing in lusty Italian. It’s as if you’ve stumbled onto some wacky dubbed movie.

Burden, a lanky, fair-haired tenor who has sung at the Metropolitan Opera and San Francisco Opera, among others, was making his company debut and singing Nemorino for the first time. A credible actor, he has a gorgeous lyric voice that blossoms on top and is even throughout. If he overdid Italianate catch-in-the-throat attacks, this is the repertory to do it in. He justifiably stopped the show with his nuanced, gentle, soaring money aria, “Una furtiva lagrima” (A furtive tear).

Three other principal singers were making company debuts, replacing originally announced singers who withdrew for different reasons: Sari Gruber (Adina) recently gave birth, Gregg Baker (Belcore) was ill and Louis Otey (Dulcamara) felt the role no longer suited him vocally.

Russian soprano Olga Makarina, who has sung Lucia and Gilda at New York City Opera and covered Adina at the Met, has a light, flexible voice that easily negotiated Donizetti’s filigree lines, but it was also dry and prim. Nor did she seem entirely comfortable with the role’s comedy. Her most affecting singing came in Adina’s final declaration of love for Nemorino.

David Adam Moore made a handsome, virile Belcore, the army sergeant who thinks he’s stealing the heart of Adina and every other woman onstage. In fact, he seems to hit a home run with all of them but her. But he sang in a smallish, monochromatic, charcoal-toned voice that was overpowered in ensembles.

Steven Condy, who made an entrance to be envied driving a chopped-down ’56 Ford Fairlane, reveled in the vocal and dramatic possibilities of the quack doctor Dulcamara. His buffo barcarole with Adina, “Io son ricco, et tu sei bella” (I’m rich, and you’re beautiful) was just one of his delightful moments. He’s another singer to watch.

Tonna Miller made a strong but often edgy Giannetta, the lusty, red-haired waitress at Adina’s diner. The splendid chorus, which Parry made a collection of vivid individuals, was prepared by Henry Venanzi.

John DeMain conducted with nuance and sensitivity, enforcing tight ensembles but allowing the singers opportunities for expressivity. Kristof Van Gryspeer provided the expert fortepiano accompaniment for the recitatives.

Isabella Bywater created the attractive, nostalgia-inducing sets and costumes, which were subtly lighted by Jeff Harris.

This is one not to miss.

chris.pasles@latimes.com

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’ The Elixir of Love’

Where: Opera Pacific, Segerstrom Hall, Orange County Performing Arts Center, 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa

When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday and Thursday, 2 p.m. April 22

Price: $27 to $200

Contact: (800) 346-7372 or

www.operapacific.org