October 13, 2026
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
AVA Presents Comedy Set In 1876 Philadelphia For Nation’s 250th
PHILADELPHIA – Oct. 13, 2026 – The Academy of Vocal Arts (AVA) begins its 92nd opera season with a distinctly Philly take on Gaetano Donizetti’s bel canto classic, L’elisir d’amore (The Elixir of Love), opening November 7, 2026, and running through December 1, 2026. The production sees the returns of conductor Steven White, stage director Damon Nestor Ploumis (AVA ‘99), and resident scenic designer Cameron Anderson.
Ploumis and Anderson place this production in Philadelphia during the 1876 Centennial Celebrations and concurrent construction of Philadelphia’s City Hall. Set among the stone blocks and wooden scaffolds of a construction site festooned with red, white, and blue bunting, the opera’s characters stand in for the social classes and unique groups of people who would have been gathered in Philadelphia at the time of the United Sates’ centennial celebrations. Within this bustling world, themes as American as apple pie poke through the surface: laborers with ambitions for something greater in life, socialites yearning to break free from narrow social expectations, veterans navigating peacetime life after war, immigrants building new lives far from home, and conmen proffering wonder cures for any problem while posing as figures of knowledge and morality.
Stage director and alumnus Damon Nestor Ploumis explains setting the opera in 1876 Philadelphia. “Donizetti’s L’elisir d’amore, like AVA itself, sits close to my heart and has been fundamental to my development as a singer and stage director. The characters of the opera fit just as naturally into a bustling 19th-century American city as they do an Italian market town. Nemorino, a laborer. Adina, the girl he adores but who seems out of his league. Dulcamara is the lovable charlatan, accoutered as Uncle Sam, he presents to America what Americans have always yearned for: the promise of success and the belief in a better tomorrow.”
Donizetti’s L’elisir d’amore, with the libretto by Felice Romani, premiered at Milan’s Teatro della Canobbiana in 1832 and remains one of the most frequently performed comedies in opera repertoire.
The plot follows a young man named Nemorino who has become smitten with the beautiful and strong-willed Adina. After his earnest attempts to win her heart fail, he turns to a traveling quack doctor’s “magic” love potion (a bottle of strong, cheap wine), setting off a hilarious series of wine-fueled escapades and misunderstandings. With melodies that capture the full range of emotion from sparkling humor to sorrowful heartache, Donizetti’s comedic masterpiece has delighted audiences around the world for nearly 200 years.
“L’elisir d’amore is everything an operatic comedy should be,” remarks conductor Steven White. “At times the music is overwhelmingly happy, and at other times it is tender and reflective. A genuinely iconic work of great comedy and sentiment, L’elisir d’amore is almost perfectly suited to showcase AVA’s commitment to nurturing the great operatic singers of tomorrow. I look forward to all the great work to be done with both AVA’s immensely talented cast and wonderful orchestra.”
L’elisir d’amore Performance Dates:
November 7, 5:00 PM
Opening Night Celebration
AVA’s Helen Corning Warden Theater
1920 Spruce Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103
$750 – Premium Reserved Seating, Cocktails and Hors d’oeuvres, Formal Dinner, Champagne and Dessert Reception
November 10, 12 & 14, 7:30 PM
AVA’s Helen Corning Warden Theater
$107 – Premium Reserved Seating
$72 – General Admission
November 17, 7:30 PM
AVA’s Helen Corning Warden Theater
$25 – Young Professionals Performance and Reception (ages 45 and under)
November 20, 6:00 PM
Delaware Valley University’s Life Sciences Building
700 East Butler Avenue, Doylestown, PA 18901
$150 – Premium Reserved Seating
$57 – General Admission
Free for Students
November 22, 4:00 PM
Lehigh University’s Zoellner Arts Center
420 East Packer Avenue, Bethlehem, PA 18015
For tickets to this performance, please call 610-758-2787.
$20 – General Admission
Free for Lehigh University students.
December 1, 7:30 PM
The Haverford School’s Centennial Hall
450 Lancaster Avenue, Haverford, PA 19041
$107 – Premium Reserved Seating
$72 – General Admission
$25 – Young Professionals (ages 45 and under)
$10 – Students (available via phone or in person only)
Tickets: Tickets for L’elisir d’amore and Season Subscriptions are now available to the public for purchase. For more information, please visit AVA’s official website at avaopera.org or call 215-735-1685.
About the Academy of Vocal Arts (AVA)
The mission of the Academy of Vocal Arts (AVA) is to be the world’s premier institution for training young artists to become international opera soloists. Through rigorous instruction and coaching, and by presentations of Resident Artists from around the world in concerts, oratorios, public programs and fully staged professional opera productions, AVA trains artists with the high potential for career success while enriching lives in Philadelphia and beyond. Gifted singers come from throughout the world to seek the exceptional guidance and training that AVA offers. Admission is determined by competitive annual auditions. AVA is distinguished by its reputation for high-quality performances that are acclaimed by critics locally, nationally, and internationally. Each year AVA Resident Artists are presented in four or five fully staged opera productions accompanied by orchestra. Resident Artists are cast in leading roles that they will in all likelihood continue to perform for the rest of their careers. Learn more about AVA at avaopera.org.
More information about AVA, its programs, and AVA’s season performances can be found online at avaopera.org or by calling (215) 735-1685.
Contact:
Andrew Rohe
Marketing & PR Manager
Academy of Vocal Arts
1920 Spruce St.
Philadelphia, PA 19103}
Phone: (215) 735-1685
Email: arohe@avaopera.org
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