The structure of the title compound, C(18)H(20)N(2)O, at 173 K has hexa-gonal (P6(1)) symmetry. The N-containing six-membered ring assumes a half-chair conformation. In the crystal, inter-molecular N-H⋯O hydrogen bonding via the amide groups cross-link the mol-ecules along the a axis. The absolute configuration was confirmed by 2D NMR studies.