• by Gaetano Donizetti
• In Italian with projected English translations.

• Approximate Running Time: 2 hours, 51 minutes

   

“Both heaven and earth have abandoned me.”
Lucia 

In Scotland, Lucia and Edgardo are breathlessly, desperately in love. But their two clans are bitter rivals, so Lucia’s villainous brother Enrico sets out to kill his young sister’s romance. And he deploys every devious device he can muster, including lies, forgery, and finally the false revelation of Edgardo’s infidelity.

Little wonder that Lucia is mentally crushed and destroyed, driven to madness and murder before she dies of a broken heart.

Donizetti based Lucia di Lammermoor on a popular novel by Sir Walter Scott, and every minute crackles with drama. This, plus the composer’s succession of bravura vocal thrills (including the famous Mad Scene!), make for an experience you’ll remember forever.

Catherine Malfitano makes her Lyric directorial debut leading this sensational cast.

Lucia demands extraordinary vocal technique and an actress who’ll make you weep as her world falls apart. In what promises to be a breakthrough performance, Beverly Sills Award-winner Susanna Phillips will mesmerize “in a blaze of vocal glory.” The Dallas Morning News 

Edgardo is both hot-headed and irresistible — perfectly suited to tenor superstar Giuseppe Filianoti, “who combines Italianate style with the ferocious verve that makes him impossible to resist.” San Francisco Chronicle 

"Brian Mulligan gives notice of a fine, strong, open baritone as the obsessive Enrico." Financial Times

"Kelsey's singing is capacious and weighty, with effortless power and plenty of vibrant color." San Francisco Chronicle

New Lyric Opera production generously made possible by Nelson D. Cornelius.

What is it about Scotland that certain Italian composers found irresistible? Perhaps its gloomy castles and misty moors made a more exotic setting for clan rivalries, doomed love, ghosts, madness, and bloody murders than the familiar sunny climes of la bella Italia.

Just as Giuseppe Verdi found inspiration in Shakespeare’s Macbeth, so did his predecessor, Gaetano Donizetti, in Sir Walter Scott’s The Bride of Lammermoor. Using an artfully compressed adaptation by first-time librettist Salvatore Cammarano, Donizetti composed Lucia in just a month in 1835. The bel canto showpiece quickly became an international sensation and ultimately the most popular of his nearly 70 operas, prized by audiences and performers alike for its musical and dramatic thrills.

Internationally renowned singing actress Catherine Malfitano, who starred in 21 Lyric productions since 1975, makes her company debut as stage director with a new production of this romantic-gothic tragedy. Soprano Susanna Phillips and tenor Giuseppe Filianoti portray the illfated lovers from enemy clans, Lucia of Lammermoor and Edgardo of Ravenswood, with baritone Gabriele Viviani as Lucia’s hotheaded brother Enrico, who forces her into a marriage with disastrous consequences. All three singers sparkled in Donizetti’s cheery Elixir of Love at Lyric in 2009-10; Lucia’s storm-tossed tale will showcase them in a starkly different light.

Malfitano notes that “there was great interest in the customs and folklore of Scotland in the 19 th century, and in themes of madness, with Lucia at the forefront of all the mad-scene heroines in opera. There’s no mad scene in the novel; that’s a creation of Donizetti’s.” The opera also provides “the satisfying dénouement of the tenor’s final scene in the graveyard,” vs. Edgar’s unusual death by quicksand in the novel. Although the story is set in the 1600s, “the feel of the opera and novel are definitely 19th century, and the look of our production is more aligned with the time in which it was created. “Lucia is a girl of nature, a dreamer who reads romance novels and is drawn to the supernatural,” Malfitano says. “She has a tendency to fantasize. We see this clearly at the start of the opera, when she tells her companion Alisa that she has been visited by the spectre of a beautiful woman. We learn that this woman was slain by her lover, an ancestor of Edgardo Ravenswood, in a fit of jealous passion.”

The director cites German landscape painter Caspar David Friedrich (1774- 1840) as an inspiration to the creative team (debuting set designer Wilson Chin and costume designer Terese Wadden; lighting designs by Lyric veteran Duane Schuler), with images of “contemplative figures against night skies, gothic ruins, and barren trees. They’re allegorical landscapes that very much suited our thinking. We love this theme in Lucia — freedom in nature vs. society’s restrictions. While nature can also be violent, the violence and brutality of society is even worse.

“The love between Lucia and Edgardo is highly romantic, forbidden, and dangerous,” Malfitano continues. “The exterior scenes are about freedom, desire, and possibility, as when they meet in the forest and swear eternal love and create their own secret marriage vows. The interior scenes reflect societal behavior — betrayal, deceit, and manipulation, all in the name of saving a family’s dwindling fortunes and achieving greater political power.” In the Lyric production, a nifty coup de théâtre will help move the action quickly from Edgardo’s ruined castle to Lucia’s harrowing emergence from the bridal chamber after she’s slain the groom. “This production was purposely conceived to move swiftly from scene to scene,” Malfitano notes. “Most of these scene changes happen a vista, in full sight of the audience. In this way, the music flows seamlessly from one location to another, and there are no unnecessary pauses to hold up the fast-moving pace of the drama.”

Malfitano portrayed Lucia early in her career. “From this early contact with the role and this iconic mad scene, I understand that it is essential to create a believable alternate reality for Lucia in her madness,” she says. “I believe it’s not so much a scene of insanity but of apotheosis and transfiguration — she’s escaping to a better place of her own making out of necessity. Inherent in its drama is a sense of real beauty and pathos, which Donizetti captures musically with uncanny insight.”

As a director since 2005, Malfitano says, “I love creating the framework, inspiring and encouraging the singers to be on the same page about the story. Although we’re not currently in a romantic era, there is still a streak of romanticism left in our society that longs for these kinds of stories. We also love supernatural, scary things, and madness is always fascinating. Lucia is a cautionary as well as a romantic tale, as timeless as Romeo and Juliet; we still haven’t overcome the problem of warring families, warring clans, warring nations. And the music is divine — incredibly beautiful, tuneful, and sumptuous. It is also inherently dramatic. That is the secret of bel canto.” Malfitano and conductor Massimo Zanetti (debut) conferred and agreed to performing Lucia virtually in its entirety: “Donizetti must be performed uncut in order to build the proper dramatic tension.”

Ryan Opera Center alumna Susanna Phillips is having a big Lucia year, with her stage debut in March with Opera Birmingham followed by her Lyric engagement in October and Minnesota Opera soon after. Her first Lucia, in a 2007 concert, immersed her in the music before facing “the physicality of the character. I’m tall, so conveying Lucia’s fragility is challenging — my physical deportment has to maintain the integrity of my instrument while physicalizing the character. Lucia is actually very strong. She’s an emotional, earthy, free-spirited, artistic woman, but there’s no one around her (other than Edgardo) who’s supportive of that personality.”

Another challenge, Phillips notes, is “finding a realistic madness. Lucia’s constantly beaten down by her brother and shut down by society. In mixed company she has no voice. Edgardo is the only one who listens to her, and it’s only through her madness that everyone else finally listens. She finds the one place she can truly express herself. It is, for her, reality, not craziness.” Phillips is determined “to find the core of the drama in the score. I want to stay close to what’s written — it’s strong enough, without excessive ornamentation, except for the cadenza in the mad scene. What’s so remarkable about this opera is that every time I listen to it I learn something new, I hear something new, I feel something new. It continues to grow and inspire.” She values Malfitano’s experience in the role and as a director, and her insights “in discussing everything from production design to musical interpretation. She has clear ideas of what she wants, but she’s open to my ideas as well.”

Famed Italian tenor Giuseppe Filianoti has a long relationship with Donizetti roles, especially in Elixir and Lucia. He’s triumphed as Nemorino in Chicago, New York, Paris, London, Vienna, Barcelona, Munich, and Los Angeles; and as Edgardo in New York, San Francisco, Vienna, Barcelona, Milan, Palermo, and Turin. “Donizetti serves as a touchstone for good singing,” Filianoti says. “His music is like a massage for the vocal cords, even if it is very difficult to sing well. Edgardo represents the absolute romantic hero in Italian opera. It requires the tenor to sing with a voice that is both heroic and lyric, in the bel canto style. It contains some of the best arias written by Donizetti for tenor.”

When Malfitano met Filianoti backstage at the Met during his Hoffmann performances, “he told me, ‘I love to act — please use me! I’ll do anything!’ He’s absolutely charming, full of energy and enthusiasm. The inspiration for his character is Byronic — Edgardo is a real 19th -century bad/mad/dangerous boy, very much alone against the Ashtons. Everything is stacked against him, which makes him highly romantic.”

The opera ends badly for the character, albeit gloriously for the singer, says Filianoti. “Donizetti made the biggest gift he could give to a tenor, which is that he gave the final scene to Edgardo, giving him the ability to die sweetly in the manner of a hero condemned by destiny to a cruel end.”

That’s bel canto — illuminating even the darkest Scottish tragedy with radiant song.

On The Record

Roger Pines, dramaturg at Lyric Opera, recommends these recorded performances.

On CD

Sutherland, Cioni, Merrill, Siepi; Chorus and Orchestra of Accademia di Santa Cecilia, cond. Pritchard (Decca)

Sutherland, Pavarotti, Milnes, Ghiaurov; Chorus and Orchestra of Royal Opera House/Covent Garden, cond. Bonynge (Decca)

Live Performance
Callas, di Stefano, Panerai, Zaccaria; La Scala Orchestra, Berlin RIAS-Symphonie- Orchester, cond. Karajan (EMI Callas Edition)

Sills, Bergonzi, Cappuccilli, Diaz; Ambrosian Opera Chorus, London Symphony Orchestra, cond. Schippers (DG)

Original Version
Rost, Ford, Michaels-Moore, Miles; London Voices, Hanover Band, cond. Mackerras (Sony)

French Version
Dessay, Alagna, Tézier, Cavallier; Chorus and Orchestra of the Opéra National de Lyon, cond. Pidò (EMI)

Sung in English
Futral, Clarke, Opie, Rose; Geoffrey Mitchell Choir, Philharmonia Orchestra, cond. Parry (Chandos)

Of Special Historal Interest
Live Performance
Sutherland, Gibin, Shaw, Rouleau; Covent Garden Chorus and Orchestra, cond. Serafin (ROH Heritage Series)

On DVD

Live Performance
Scotto, Bergonzi, Zanasi, Clabassi; NHK Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, cond. Bartoletti (VAI)

Live Performance
Devia, La Scola, Bruson, Colombara; Chorus and Orchestra of La Scala,  cond. Ranzani
(Opus Arte)

Live Performance
Netrebko, Beczala, Kwiecien, Relyea; Metropolitan Opera Chorus and Orchestra, cond. Armiliato, dir. Zimmerman. (DG)

Live Performance
Sutherland, Kraus, Elvira, Plishka; Metropolitan Opera, cond. Bonynge (DG)

Live Performance
Sutherland, Greager, Donnelly, Grant; Australian Opera Chorus, Elizabethan Sydney Orchestra, cond. Bonynge (Kultur)

Studio Film
Moffo, Kozma, Fioravanti, Scarlini; RAI Chorus, Rome Symphony Orchestra, cond. Cillario (VAI)

French Version
Live Performance
Ciofi, Alagna, Tézier, Cavallier; Chorus and Orchestra of Opéra National de Lyon, cond. Pidò,  dir. P. Caurier and M. Leiser (Opus Arte)

The Bel Canto Operas of Rossini, Donizetti, and Bellini by Charles Osborne, Amadeus Press, 1994. Highly accessible musical commentaries on the works of the bel canto heavy hitters.

Divas and Scholars: Performing Italian Opera by Philip Gossett, The University of Chicago Press, 2006. This is an indispensable book—a gold mine of information about the history of Italian opera performance and the tensions between performance practices of the past and present.

Donizetti and His Operas by William Ashbrook, Cambridge University Press, 1982. The reference book on Donizetti. The biography carefully reconstructs the composer’s life, and operas are discussed both generally in terms of period conventions and individually in terms of specific works.

Donizetti and the World of Opera in Italy, Paris, and Vienna in the Early 19^th Century by Herbert Weinstock, Pantheon, 1963. A pioneering study of Donizetti in English. Still useful today for a first approach to the composer.

Feminine Endings: Music, Gender, and Sexuality by Susan McClary, University of Minnesota, 1991. Includes a chapter entitled “The Musical Representation of Madwomen” that provocatively examines how Donizetti conveys Lucia’s madness through his use of music.

The Golden Century of Italian Opera from Rossini to Puccini by William Weaver, Thames & Hudson, 1980. An informative overview from a leading scholar and translator of Italian opera.

The Italian Romantic Libretto: A Study of Salvadore Cammarano by John Black, Edinburgh University Press, 1984. A fascinating history and analysis of libretto-writing in Italy during the age of bel canto.

The New Grove Masters of Italian Opera: Rossini, Donizetti, Bellini, Verdi, Puccini by Philip Gossett, et al., W. W. Norton, 1983. A compendium of entries from the authoritative New Grove Dictionary of Opera pertaining solely to Italy’s illustrious sons.

Opera, or The Undoing of Women by Catherine Clément, tr. by Betsy Wing, University of Minnesota Press, 1988. A cultural analysis of opera heroines from the perspective of a writer who is as passionate a feminist as she is an opera lover.

Singers of Italian Opera: The History of a Profession by John Rosselli, Cambridge University Press, 1992. Traces the development of the profession of the opera singer in Italy from the 17^th to the 20^th century. A reference for understanding the changing social status of singers over the centuries and their function in Italian opera production.

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