Under the baton of Music Director/Conductor Kirk Muspratt, New Philharmonic, the professional orchestra in residence at the McAninch Arts Center (MAC), opens 2025 with a concert presentation of Donizetti’s “The Elixir of Love” 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 25 and 3 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 26. “The Elixir of Love” is one of opera’s best examples of bel canto, and the perfect opera to chase away a winter chill.
With no money, no confidence, and no hope of winning the hand of the rich and alluring hotel owner Adina (Alisa Jordheim, soprano), the young and poor waiter Nemorino (James Judd, tenor) entrusts his chance of romance to a quack salesman, Dulcamara (David Govertsen, bass), and a dubious bottle of a magic elixir. Adina’s friend and town gossip Giannetta (AddieRose Brown, mezzo soprano), and the egocentric Sergeant Belcore (Jonathan Wilson, baritone) help stir the pot of humor and emotion in this entertaining bel canto opera, sung in Italian with English subtitles.
Clockwise from UL: Alisa Jordheim (Photo by Faye Fox) , AddieRose Brown (Photo by Jonathan Hackney), James Judd (Photo courtesy of the artist), Jonathan Wilson (Photo courtesy of the artist), and David Govertsen (Photo by Elise Kern).
Throughout his lifetime, Italian-born Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti (1797-1848) composed 70 operas, including “Anna Bolena,” “The Elixir of Love” (“L'elisir d'amore”) and “Don Pasquale,” plus 20 string quartets. “The Elixir of Love” became an instant classic and has remained continually in the international opera repertory. It is recognized as one of the finest examples of all bel canto opera, a style of opera where the primary focus of the music is on the beautiful vocal lines. Today it is one of the most frequently performed of all Donizetti's operas and has been in the top 15 operas on the Operabase list of the most-performed operas worldwide multiple times.
Tickets
New Philharmonic presents a concert performance of Donizetti’s “The Elixir of Love” at McAninch Arts Center, 425 Fawell Blvd., on the campus of College of DuPage, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 25 and 3 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 26. Tickets are $67. For tickets visit www.AtTheMAC.org or call 630.942.4000. The McAninch Box Office is open Tuesday – Saturday, noon – 6 p.m. and two hours prior to performance. Holiday hours may vary.
About New Philharmonic
New Philharmonic, the only professional orchestra based in DuPage County, Ill., has inspired classical music enthusiasts in Chicago and the suburbs for more than four decades. New Philharmonic was recently honored with the Illinois Council of Orchestras’ 2020 ICO Award in the category Programming of the Year. It continues to thrive with the goal to give innovative treatment to both classic compositions and modern works while striving to make the music accessible to new audiences and youth through a variety of educational efforts. Today, under the direction of Music Director/Conductor Kirk Muspratt, named 2018 Conductor of the Year (Professional Orchestra) by Illinois Council of Orchestras, New Philharmonic consists of more than 60 professional musicians and typically performs more than a dozen concerts a year, reaching more than 7,500 from the greater Chicago area annually.
“The Elixier of Love” is sponsored by Frank Modruson & Lynne Shigley. Media Sponsor is 90.9 FM WDCB Public Radio.
Season support for New Philharmonic is provided in part by the DuPage Foundation, a grant from the Illinois Arts Council Agency, Brookdale Glen Ellyn; Sullivan Taylor Family Trust, Frank Modruson and Lynne Shigley, Anonymous, 90.9 FM WDCB Public Radio and the College of DuPage Foundation.
About the MAC
McAninch Arts Center at College of DuPage is located 25 miles west of Chicago near I-88 and I-355. It houses three indoor performance spaces (780-seat proscenium Belushi Performance Hall; 186-seat soft-thrust Playhouse Theatre; and a versatile black box Studio Theatre), outdoor Lakeside Pavilion, plus the Cleve Carney Museum of Art and classrooms for the college’s academic programming. The MAC has presented theater, music, dance and visual art to more than 1.5 million people since its opening in 1986 and typically welcomes more than 100,000 patrons from the greater Chicago area to more than 230 performances each season.
The mission of the MAC is to foster enlightened educational and performance opportunities, which encourage artistic expression, establish a lasting relationship between people and art, and enrich the cultural vitality of the community. For more information about the MAC, visit www.AtTheMAC.org or @AtTheMAC on Facebook and Instagram.
Support for the McAninch Arts Center is provided in part by Brookdale Senior Living Glen Ellyn, Anonymous, College of DuPage Foundation, Sullivan Taylor Family Trust, DuPage Foundation, Ball Horticultural, Frank Modruson & Lynne Shigley, Enjoy Illinois, Illinois Arts Council, a state agency. Media Sponsor is WDCB 90.9 FM, Hotel Sponsor is DoubleTree by Hilton Lisle/Naperville.
Established as a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit charitable organization in 1967, the College of DuPage Foundation raises monetary and in-kind gifts to increase access to education and to enhance cultural opportunities for the surrounding community. For more information about the College of DuPage Foundation, visit www.foundation.cod.edu or call 630.942.2462
Featured Artist Biographies
Alisa Jordheim (soprano) - Adina
MAC audiences have recently enjoyed Jordheim’s appearances with New Philharmonic in the “Merry Widow” (2020) and “A Night of Broadway and Opera” (2021). Lauded by the San Francisco Chronicle as “vocally resplendent” and possessing “impeccable coloratura,” this season she makes several role debuts: Violetta in “La Traviata” with Opera Western Reserve, Adina in “The Elixir of Love” with the New Philharmonic, “Le Fée in Cendrillon” with Opera Orlando, Daria prima donna in “Viva la Mamma” with Florentine Opera, and the Young Woman in Cipullo’s “After Life for Music for Remembrance” in Seattle and San Francisco. This season on the concert stage, she will also sing performances of “Carmina Burana” with both Pacific Symphony and Evansville Symphony. Last season, she made her London debut in concert with the Voces8 Foundation. Jordheim recently returned to the role of Gilda in “Rigoletto” with both the Pacific Symphony and Amarillo Opera and made her Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra debut singing Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 and Prangcharoen’s “Endless Tears.”
AddieRose Brown (mezzo soprano) - Giannetta
Brown previously covered the role of Nellie for New Philharmonic’s “South Pacific” (2023) and now returns for her role debut as Giannetta in “The Elixir of Love.” Her 24/25 season also brings a string of exciting engagements including a company debut with Cambridge Chamber Ensemble where she portrays The Spy in Menotti’s rarely performed opera “Labyrinth,” and the beginning of a Fellowship with Madison Avenue Baptist, NYC, in their Emerging Artist Program. She will also join the Hudson Valley Singers as the mezzo soloist in John Corigliano’s darkly lyrical “Fern Hill.” Brown is the recipient of a dual First Prize and Audience Favorite Award in Sinfonietta Bel Canto’s Voice Competition, as well as Pittsburgh Concert Society’s Wickline Seaman Memorial Grant.
James Judd (tenor) - Nemorino
Judd, seen with New Philharmonic in “Merry Widow” (2020) and the concert opera “South Pacific” (2023), has sung with the Los Angeles Opera Orchestra, the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, the Western New York Chamber Orchestra, and The AIMS Festival Orchestra. Some of his operatic roles include Monostatos in “Die Zauberflöte,” Ferrando in “Così fan tutte,” the title role in “La Clemenza di Tito,” Alfredo in “Die Fledermaus,” Asgar in the U.S. premiere of “Arshin mal alan” and Claude in the world premiere of “The Fall of Stag Lee.” Judd has participated as a Young Artist at the American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria, Opera Saratoga, the Crittenden Opera Workshop in Bethesda, Md. and the Rocky Ridge Music Center in Estes Park, Colo., where he won their prestigious concerto competition.
Jonathan Wilson (baritone) - Sergeant Belcore
Wilson, last seen as Billis in New Philharmonic’s concert presentation of “South Pacific” (2023), has been praised by the Chicago Classical Review as a "superb actor" with a "resounding and luxurious" voice. An enthusiast of contemporary opera, his performance credits include Robert Dziekański in “I will fly like a bird” (Plant, Wainwright), The Poet in "When Adonis Calls” (Borzoni, de los Santos, Dillard) and “Hannah-Before in As One” (Kaminsky, Campbell, Reed). He has also performed as the title character in Tom Waits' and Kathleen Brennan's adaptation of “Woyzeck” with Chicago Fringe Opera and has premiered many roles for new chamber operas and musical theater productions throughout the Chicago area. Wilson is also a frequent singer with the Chicago Symphony Chorus, Grant Park Chorus and Lyric Opera Chorus.
David Govertsen (bass) - Dulcamara
MAC audiences may remember Govertsen from his crowd-pleasing appearance in New Philharmonic’s sold-out production of “The Mikado” (2017). He made his Carnegie Hall debut in 2011 as the Herald in “Otello” with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra conducted by Riccardo Muti. Locally he has performed dozens of roles, among them the title roles in “Don Giovanni,” “Le Nozze di Figaro,” “Don Pasquale” and “Gianni Schicchi.” Govertsen is an alumnus of both the Santa Fe Opera and Central City Opera apprentice programs and holds degrees from Northwestern University, Northern Illinois University and the College of DuPage. A former member of the Ryan Center at Lyric, his other mainstage assignments have included roles in “Die Zauberflöte,” “Boris Godunov,” “Werther, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg,” “Madama Butterfly” and “Roméo et Juliette.”