Tragic drama in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti, libretto by Salvatore Cammarano from the novel The Bride of Lammermoor by Walter Scott
Staging by the Fondazione Teatro Carlo Felice di Genova in co-production with the Fondazione Teatro Comunale di Bologna and the ABAO-OLBE of Bilbao
Characters and interpreters:
Enrico
Franco Vassallo
Lucia
Nina Minasyan
Edgardo
Iván Ayón Rivas
Arturo
Paolo Antognetti
Raimondo
Luca Tittoto
Alisa
Alena Sautier
Normanno
Manuel Pierattelli
Concertmaster and conductor
Francesco Ivan Ciampa
Director
Lorenzo Mariani
Scenes
Maurizio Balò
Costumes
Silvia Aymonino
Lighting
Linus Fellbom
Video
Fabio Massimo Iaquone and Luca Attilii
Orchestra, chorus and technicians of the Opera Carlo Felice Genova
Choirmaster Claudio Marino Moretti
Lucia di Lammermoor is Gaetano Donizetti’s third opera seria, composed in 1835 (after the earlier Anna Bolena, 1830 and Lucrezia Borgia, 1833). The composer had a total of forty-three operas to his credit when he decided to set to music a subject, Walter Scott’s The Bride of Lammermoor, which had already inspired several previous musical adaptations. Donizetti worked with librettist Salvatore Cammarano, who introduced minor variations to the literary source, moving the action back in time, from the original 1689 to the late 16th century. The play is set in Scotland, where the two families Ashton, with siblings Henry and Lucy, and Ravenswood, to which Edgar is heir, are bitter rivals. Lucia and Edgardo are in love, but their families cannot bear their union, which is constantly put to the test. While Edgardo is away, Lucia is tricked into marrying someone else; during the wedding ceremony, Edgardo returns unexpectedly and, noting the betrayal, curses Lucia, who goes mad with grief, eventually killing her husband and committing suicide. When Edgardo learns of his beloved’s tragic end, he takes his own life. The central theme is that of madness for love, a strong and characteristic theme of the opera seria genre, explored here with great acumen. From the very first performance, which took place at the San Carlo Theatre in Naples on 26 September 1835 with an exceptional cast, it was clear that Lucia di Lammermoor would immediately establish itself as a reference title in Donizetti’s catalogue and more generally in the Italian musical panorama. The composer’s writing stands out in this work both in the orchestration and in the design of the vocal lines. Lucia’s part, in particular, achieves a very high level of expression that emerges as much in the arias as in the recitatives. Also of great importance are the ensemble and choral moments.
