Meanwhile: Quiet tears of joy

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Meanwhile: Quiet tears of joy

Published: 30 Jan. 2026, 00:05

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

Na Sung-in

The author is a music critic and director of the classical music brand Poongwoldang.

Gaetano Donizetti’s opera “L’elisir d’amore" (1832) depicts a lighthearted farce about uneducated rural villagers who are duped by a bogus potion seller into buying a supposed elixir that promises love. Amid the noisy bustle and comic tone of the work, however, one aria emerges with a striking seriousness. It is “Una furtiva lagrima,” sung by Nemorino. Even before the voice enters, the bassoon’s deep sound softens the listener’s heart. It is likely the most famous solo passage ever written for that instrument in opera.

Giuseppe Frezzolini (1789-1861) as Dr. Dulcamara in Donizetti's "L'elisir d'amore," which premiered at the Teatro della Canobbiana, Milan, on May 12, 1832. [WIKIPEDIA]

If heard without knowledge of the story, the aria can easily be mistaken for a sad song. The phrase “a furtive tear” suggests, at first glance, the tears of an unfortunate man whose love has gone unanswered. In reality, the tear belongs to a woman. It is the tear of emotion and remorse that quietly forms in Adina’s eyes when she finally realizes, after a long delay, the sincerity of the man who has loved her for so long. Nemorino notices that tear, and his feelings surge.

Within the opera as a whole, this aria feels almost like an isolated island. Yet the composer clearly intended to give sufficient emotional weight to Nemorino’s swelling heart. One cannot help but imagine how anxious he must have been, and how painful that waiting must have felt. Although the moment is unquestionably a happy one, memories of loneliness and past hurt would have flashed through his mind in that instant. It is much like the tears shed by an athlete who, after enduring grueling training and fierce competition, finally stands on an Olympic podium.

In this way, joy carries within it the memory of sorrow. The human heart is subtle and deep. This conspicuously expressive melody in a minor key suggests that even the simple country youth who is mocked for buying a love potion from a fraud possesses a sincerity that cannot be dismissed as ignorance. His feelings are not shallow or foolish simply because he is uneducated.

So let us warmly glimpse the feelings he sheds in private and then calmly pretend not to notice. And let us tell everyone he meets that the potion he bought truly worked.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.