Audiences and performers at Blackheath Halls Opera have already cottoned on to Fehr's cheerful and inventive talent, through his productions there, and indeed this Elixir is partly born out of one he did with Blackheath. And what an utterly delightful experience it is, its bucolic kind heart well worth revisiting.
The action opens below stairs at a Palladian country house where Land Girls and agricultural workers watch the failed attempt of lovesick Nemorino to conquer wilful Adina. Cue preening rival Belcore, here a dashing airman with Clark Gable looks and a wooing style that bristles with military precision.
Dan D'Souza's Belcore commandeers Rhian Lois's Adina. Photo: Marc Brenner
The elixir of the title, a cure for absolutely any ailment, is peddled by the spivvy quack Dulcamara, who sweeps up to the big house with his slick assistants and makes sales aplenty.
When timid Nemorino asks for the love potion that worked in the Tristan and Isolde myth, quick-thinking Dulcamara dispenses what we know to be the contents of his own hip flask. With a couple of swigs, Nemorino loses his inhibitions and turns Adina's head. Her imminent marriage into the services is soon off.
Fehr has a gift for instilling buckets of character into his choruses, and here that is complemented by the lively colour palette of Zahra Mansouri's terrific costume designs. If you are sick and tired of choruses in beige and grey (and there are an awful lot of those), feast your eyes on these ochres and turquoises, inspired in part by the war art of Eileen Dunbar. Life won't be the same after you've seen mustard knickerbockers.
Dulcamara (Brandon Cedel) sets out his stall. Photo: Marc Brenner
Also making her ENO debut is conductor Teresa Riveiro Böhm, perhaps underestimating the resonance of the Coliseum and the strength of the Orchestra of English National Opera, so that Donizetti's twinkletoes score wore hobnail boots on opening night, but that's fixable. Then audiences will be able to enjoy to the full the warm tenor of Thomas Atkins as Nemorino as well as the impressive baritone of relative newcomer Dan D'Souza as Wing Commander Belcore.
The star of the night is former ENO Harewood artist Rhian Lois as Adina, delectably flirtatious and in wondrous control of a soprano voice that deftly spins a web of notes in mid-air, and, if the music or text demands it, can spin every one at a different gauge. It's a delectable performance.
Plenty of directors start with a clever other-time-and-place idea which quickly runs out of steam, or of meaning, after a few pages. The great Jonathan Miller knew how to sustain such a transformation until the closing bars, and so does Fehr. And like Miller, he is not afraid of charm or of out-and-out entertainment. How refreshing.
Rhian Lois as lady of the manor Adina. Photo: Marc Brenner
He has a terrific team. Set designer Nicky Shaw gives us the jolly servants' hall and the drawing room upstairs in 50 shades of green. The foldaway travelling medicine cabinet is a joy, and who wouldn't want a silk wedding dress wittily and resourcefully made out of a parachute (a real-life wheeze for many wartime brides)?
With ENO's future reshaping, it has in The Elixir of Love a production that will bring delight to audiences wherever the company goes, and which will stand the test of time. It has every chance to become as much a mainstay of the repertoire as Miller's great Bohème, Mikado or Rigoletto. Here's hoping that Fehr already has something else for us up his sleeve.
The Elixir of Love is sung in English with English surtitles. Further performances are on 20, 23, 27, 30 Nov, 3, 5 Dec (7PM, with a relaxed performance at 12.30PM).Click here to book
| What | The Elixir of Love, English National Opera review |
| Where | English National Opera, London Coliseum, St Martin's Lane, London, WC2N 4ES | MAP |
| Nearest tube | Charing Cross (underground) |
| When |
15 Nov 24 – 05 Dec 24, Eight performances, start times vary. Running time 2hr 35min, including one interval |
| Price | £10-£199 |
| Website | Click here for details and booking |