love potion operas

Speranza

In "The Sorcerer", as wiki reads:

"Gilbert expanded on his own short story that he had written the previous year for The Graphic, "An Elixir of Love,"creating a plot about a magic love potion that – as often occurs in opera – causes everyone to fall in love with the wrong partner."

"In the Gilbert's short story, "An elixir of love", the elixir is used to help the villagers overcome the difficulty that they have in expressing their true feelings and achieving domestic happiness in the face the convoluted Victorian rules of courtship."

 

"The device of a magic potion can also be found in some of Gilbert's earlier works: a Bab Ballad 'The Cunning Woman' and his first early Victorian burlesque, Dulcamara, as well as later works, such as Foggerty's Fairy and The Mountebanks. See Bradley (1996), p. 43."