Italian title:  L'Elisir d'Amore

Composer:  Gaetano Donizetti (1797-1848)

Libretto:  Felice Romani

Based on:  Eugène Scribe's text for Daniel-François-Esprit Auber's Le philtre (1831).

Premiere:  12 May 1832, Teatro Cannobiana, Milan

U.S. premiere:  1838, New York (in English)

It's a hit!:  Between 1838 and 1848, Elisir was the most frequently performed opera in Italy.

He's a hit!:  In the same time period, one out of every four opera productions in Italy was of a Donizetti work.

And he writes fast:  Donizetti composed L'Elisir in about six weeks, following the premiere of his Ugo, conte di Parigi (13 March 1832).

Fast learners:  The first rehearsal of the new opera was around May 1; it opened eleven days later.