BBC Radio 3 Marks Valentine’s Day With Donizetti’s Sparkling Love Potion From Barcelona

BBC Radio 3’s Opera on 3 chose the most fitting opera imaginable for February 14: a story about a lovesick peasant, a fake elixir, and cheap red wine that somehow works better than magic.

There is no shortage of love stories in the operatic canon, but few are as irresistibly charming as L’elisir d’amore. On Valentine’s Day, BBC Radio 3’s Opera on 3 broadcast a recording of Donizetti‘s beloved comic opera captured at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona last December, featuring South African soprano Pretty Yende as Adina and American tenor Michael Spyres as the hopelessly smitten Nemorino. The broadcast, presented by Tom Service alongside cultural historian Flora Willson, was a deliberate Valentine’s gift to listeners, and a well-chosen one at that.

The plot of L’elisir d’amore is deceptively simple. Nemorino, a poor young villager, is desperately in love with the clever and independent Adina. He faces competition from the boastful military officer Belcore. In a moment of desperation, Nemorino turns to the traveling quack Doctor Dulcamara and buys what he believes is a love potion. It is, of course, nothing more than cheap red wine. But the confidence it gives him proves more potent than any magic. Donizetti composed the entire score in roughly six weeks in 1832, and it became one of his most enduring triumphs. The opera ranks among the most frequently performed works in the global repertoire, sitting at number 12 on the Operabase list of the most-staged operas worldwide.

The Barcelona production, directed by Mario Gas, has a remarkable history of its own. It first premiered at the Teatre Grec in 1983 and has been part of the Liceu’s programming since the 1997-1998 season. That a staging can remain vital and entertaining for over 40 years speaks to its quality. The Liceu ran 15 performances of L’elisir d’amore between November 22 and December 15, 2025, deploying triple casts to protect the singers’ voices across such a demanding schedule. The performance captured for BBC Radio 3 featured the pairing of Yende and Spyres, with Jan Antem as Belcore, Fabio Capitanucci as Dulcamara, and Núria Vilà as Giannetta. Venezuelan maestro Diego Matheuz conducted the Liceu Orchestra and Chorus.

Pretty Yende’s journey to the world’s greatest stages reads like an opera plot itself. Born in 1985 in the small town of Piet Retief in South Africa‘s Mpumalanga province, she had never heard opera until she was 16. A British Airways television advertisement featuring the Flower Duet from Delibes’ Lakme changed everything. She enrolled at the South African College of Music, graduated cum laude, then moved to Milan to study at the Accademia Teatro alla Scala. In 2011, she won first prize at Operalia, the prestigious competition founded by Plácido Domingo. Her Metropolitan Opera debut came in January 2013, stepping in on short notice for another soprano opposite Juan Diego Flórez. She has since performed at La Scala, the Royal Opera House, and the Paris Opera, and in 2023 she sang at the coronation of King Charles III. She also performed at the reopening of Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris in December 2024.

Spyres, for his part, brought a different kind of star power to the production. Born in 1979 in Missouri and raised in the Ozarks in a deeply musical family, he studied at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna and first gained international recognition in 2008 for his performance in the title role of Rossini’s Otello. He has since built a reputation as one of the most versatile tenors alive, with a staggering 83 roles across 78 operas to his name. His unique three-octave range has earned him the self-coined label ‘baritenor,’ allowing him to sing both tenor and baritone repertoire with equal authority. The Nemorino in Barcelona was a role debut for Spyres, and Spanish critics praised his performance warmly. One reviewer noted his ‘generous and coppery timbre’ and called his rendition of the famous aria ‘Una furtiva lagrima’ the highlight of the evening, particularly because he included Donizetti’s own original variations, lending the piece a freshness rarely heard. Beyond performing, Spyres serves as artistic director of the Ozarks Lyric Opera in his hometown, making him a rare figure who is both international star and regional impresario. His next major challenge: a debut as Tristan in Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde at the Metropolitan Opera.

The choice of L’elisir d’amore for Valentine’s Day is almost too perfect. At its heart, the opera argues that love needs no magic potion. The real elixir is sincerity, persistence, and perhaps a glass of wine for courage. When the curtain opens, Adina is reading the legend of Tristan and Isolde, where a love potion does work. But Donizetti’s comedy gently mocks that idea. In his version, the happy ending comes not from a bottle but from genuine human connection. It is a message that has resonated with audiences for nearly two centuries and shows no signs of losing its potency.

For those who missed the broadcast, BBC Radio 3 typically makes Opera on 3 programs available for a limited time on BBC Sounds. The Liceu has also made the production available on its digital platform, Liceu OPERA+. Whether heard on the radio or streamed online, this particular pairing of Yende’s luminous soprano and Spyres’ chameleon-like tenor in one of opera’s most lovable comedies is worth seeking out. Valentine’s Day comes and goes, but a good love story, especially one set to Donizetti’s irresistible melodies, tends to linger.