“I’M feeling like the bride on the wedding night,” says founder and artistic director of Canberra Opera Workshop, David Reedy.

No wonder, his new company (“it’s called ‘workshop’ because it’s still developing”) is embarking on its first production, “L’elisir d’amore” (“The Elixir of Love”) by Donizetti, one of the most popular operas ever written and number 12 on the “Operabase” list of the most-performed operas.

Reedy, a long-time Canberra singing teacher and tenor who studied under the late David Parker, has gathered a star cast from his Bel Canto-style singing pupils and the general public, with an equally impressive group of creatives in director Cate Clelland, music director Alexander O’Sullivan, assistant music director John Yoon and conductor Elizabeth Collie.

Reedy, keen to tap into the Canberra community’s passion for opera, advertised for the large chorus, but didn’t make them audition, so there’s a nice feeling to the company, in which the age ranges from 17-76.

Clelland describes the staging concept for “L’elisir d’amore” as, “so simple. It’s already set in history – we’ll make it our history!”

Ballarat in the gold rush era, to be precise, about 20 years later than the original Italian setting of the opera. The set design will be based on the famous goldfield paintings by ST Gill, set within a picture frame.

“It’s all about class, about differently educated people, about two people who don’t know their own minds… it’s silly, it’s sweet and there are no surprises at all,” she says.

Very simply, Nemorino (David Smith), a humble peasant, is in love with the beautiful Adina (Sigrid Miech) and he thinks she doesn’t know. So he consults a quack doctor, played by Christopher McNee.

As for the change in setting, it’s not much of a change, Clelland says.

“Attitudes were the same, class distinctions were the same,”she says.

In both societies and, contrary to common belief, there were plenty of girls on the goldfields.

That’s the easy part. But there’s a lot of work for everybody in this show, many of whom have little stage experience. Clelland has chosen a more stylistic approach to her “quick version” of acting training, in which “people learn by doing”.

As for Reedy, he  has big  plans for COW next year, maybe Gounod’s “Romeo and Juliet”.

“The Elixir of Love”, ANU Arts Centre, 8pm, December 9 and 10; 2pm, December 11. Bookings to www.CanberraOperaworkshop.org.au or 62491831. Opera with dinner/lunch package, Teatro Vivaldi, bookings to 6257 2718.

Win one of three double tickets to “The Elixir of Love’s” opening night, Entries to citynews.com.au/win