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Met Opera Live - Donizetti, Lucia di Lammermoor: Metropolitan Opera’s HD transmission live to the Barbican Cinema, London. 7.2.2009 (MMB)


Lucia di Lammermoor is one of those operas that has never lost its place in the public’s affection. The audience at its first ever performance was ecstatic and audiences today are not much different. The Barbican cinema was nearly sold out for this broadcast, with only half a dozen seats left empty.

Lucia is a romantic melodrama; compelling, emotional and at the same time with a contrived, slightly ridiculous plot, however Donizetti’s music has elevated and transformed it into a masterpiece. The libretto, written by Salvatore Cammarano, is based on Sir Walter Scott’s novel The Bride of Lammermoor, which in turn, according to its author’s explanation, was based on an actual incident in the history of the Dalrymple family, which took place in the mid 1600’s. Scott set it in Scotland during the reign of Queen Anne (1702-1714) but this Mary Zimmerman’s production for the Met is staged as a Victorian ghost story.

Donizetti’s score to Lucia di Lammermoor was composed, as so often the case in those days, for the abilities of a particular cast. He chose, as his first Lucia, soprano Fanny Tacchinardi-Persiani who was famous for her great technical prowess. It was for her that Donizetti wrote the incredibly difficult mad scene, filled with high vocal acrobatics and fioritura. Perhaps for this reason, the opera has long been a star vehicle for great coloratura sopranos. However, this scene is not only a showcase for singers with technical agility; it also requires great dramatic skills. The music uses earlier tunes in the opera and twists them in order to demonstrate Lucia’s demented state. While singing the fiendishly difficult part, the soprano must also physically express that she is no longer in control of her mind and actions; simultaneously waking up feelings of fear and pity in the audience,  for she committed a horrible crime but she was a victim herself. In fact, the real murderer is her brother who treated her like a commodity and not a human being.

The plot of Lucia has a “Romeo and Juliet” flavour, as the two lovers are the victims of the hatred between their families. Unlike Juliet, Lucia does not have a potion that puts her in a state of apparent death before the dreaded marriage takes place. After her secret engagement to Edgardo, the man she loves and her family’s enemy, she is forced to marry Arturo, the choice of her scheming, cruel brother Enrico. Lucia completely loses her mind and kills the bridegroom in the wedding bed, originating what is possibly the most famous mad scene in all opera. After thinking that Lucia betrayed him and suitably insulting her by tearing his ring off her finger and calling her less than pleasant names, Edgardo, in despair and rage, hopes to get killed by Enrico in a duel but ends up stabbing himself in the chest when he learns what happened to poor Lucia, finally realising that she was a victim. And so the lovers who could not be together in life are united in death; a favourite theme of the romantics, which emerges repeatedly in literature, music and art. The opera ends with a scene of mourning for Lucia and Edgardo.

This staging of Lucia di Lammermoor starred Russian soprano Anna Netrebko in the title role, returning after her maternity leave. If the strain of pregnancy and giving birth to a baby boy (so we were told during the interval) was still slightly visible physically, no impact was noticeable in her wonderfully rich and voluptuous voice. She created a tender, sweet, fragile Lucia, endearing and wrongly used by her despicable brother. The character’s vulnerability is effectively demonstrated throughout the opera but mostly in the confrontation with Enrico at the beginning of Act II. Netrebko’s mad scene, in Act III, was supremely sung. She managed a wonderful balance between technique and drama, brilliantly showcasing her warm high notes, delicately singing a poignant, soft vocal line when she believes that her adored Edgardo is actually with her. She injects her voice with moving yet colourful sounds, which convincingly displayed Lucia’s fragility and delusional mind; so touchingly real that it brought a few tearful sobs among the audience in the Barbican cinema. Ms Netrebko confirmed her status as a great singer with true star power, and she certainly played one of the best “Lucias” that I have ever seen. However, in my personal opinion, I must say that the greatest Lucia I have had the pleasure of witnessing on stage was undoubtedly Natalie Dessay’s whose unbelievable performance, as a terribly disturbed woman, is visible and extremely powerful both in her fabulous body language and flawless singing, as well as in her empty wide-eyed expression, so sadly arresting in a demented person.

Polish baritone Mariusz Kwiecien as Lucia’s scheming brother Enrico was simply superb too. His rich, colourful, extremely agile voice fits the role to perfection. He acts it convincingly as well, effectively displaying Enrico’s cruelty -  he does not hesitate to dispose of his sister for his own advantage. Kwiecien is a totally believable, hateful villain. He steals every scene where he sings and, throughout his performance, one wants to applaud his fabulous vocal ability but at the same time boo him for his actions, which ultimately cause the death of two perfectly nice people whose only crime was to have fallen in love. As his not so despicably “villainous” chaplain Raimondo, Russian bass Ildar Abdrazakov is also excellent. He sings with a natural easiness and a perfectly clear diction. His voice sounds both warm and commanding, and he has a powerful dramatic presence on stage that effectively enhances the character.

The role of Edgardo, Lucia’s beloved, was to have been sung by Mexican star tenor Rolando Villazón but he was ill and so Polish tenor Piotr Beczala, currently singing Lensky in Tchaikovsky’s Onegin at the Met, jumped in at the last moment. There was a slight hush of disappointment, in the Barbican cinema, when Natalie Dessay, who has also sung Lucia at the Met but this time was playing the hostess, announced that Villazón could not sing. As it turned out, it was not a loss to the public, as Beczala was much more than a worthy replacement and treated the audience to a truly memorable performance. He has developed into a great dramatic tenor, his voice has a beautiful warm, expressive tone, his phrasing is more delicate than formerly and his acting is convincing. He sang a loving, caring but also enraged Edgardo, displaying technical agility and an easy smooth transition from the top to the bottom of his voice; demonstrating he is as comfortable with vocal pyrotechnics as he is singing in a tender, melodic mezza voce. A fabulous performance that may make him into the star he truly deserves to be.

The minor roles of Alisa, Lucia’s companion; Normanno, the captain of the guard and Arturo, Lucia’s doomed bridegroom were effectively sung by Michaela Martens, Michael Myers and Colin Lee respectively, suitably supporting the leads.

Marco Armiliato brilliantly led the orchestra of the Metropolitan Opera House into a sparkling, incisive and luminous performance; vividly dramatic, expressively showcasing Donizetti’s great music. Armiliato demonstrated once again what a great conductor of opera he is. His understanding of the dramatic power of the score and how to support the singers was audible throughout the piece, particularly during the mad scene and Edgardo’s final moments.

Mary Zimmerman’s production as a Victorian ghost story is suitably dark and effectively recreates the Scottish landscape and the fact that she transposed the story to Victorian times made the production look more attractive. The Victorian interior decoration and most of all, the more stylish, elegant costumes definitely enhanced the visual aspects of the staging. The idea of the long, beautiful wooden staircase for the mad scene was an inspired decision which effectively underlines the dramatic power of the music and of Lucia’s delusional state of mind. However, I must say that the ghosts did not totally convince me. They are suitably dressed in white, with white powdered hair and faces but were not completely believable as ethereal, spiritual beings; instead they appeared to be what they were in reality, i.e. people made up to look like ghosts. According to Zimmerman’s own words, in an interview during the interval, she travelled to Scotland to understand the right atmosphere. She also decided to return to Walter Scott’s original novel which is why she added the ghosts.

This Met broadcast was hosted by the truly wonderful Natalie Dessay who proved that she is as good a presenter as she is an actress and singer. In her charming, light French accent, she navigated the interviews and presentations in a natural, spontaneous manner, showing her lively personality and good sense of humour, mixed up with genuine affection and admiration for her peers, as well as for the people backstage who make opera possible. This broadcast was definitely made more interesting and pleasurable by her presence. She did not simply host it in an intelligent, professional manner; she was also genuinely funny, making the audience laugh in the Barbican cinema.

This particular transmission was expertly directed for film by Gary Halvorson and it was generally excellent. However, there were a few unusual camera angles - from the bottom of the stage looking up – which were not always effective, as they made the performers appear slightly too tall and stretched.

The evening finished with the rapturous applause in the Met’s Auditorium, seconded by some enthusiastic members of the audience in the Barbican cinema. Deservedly, Kwiecien, Beczala and Netrebko received a standing ovation in the Metropolitan for their truly outstanding performances in this excellent production, arguably Donizetti’s most popular opera.

Margarida Mota-Bull

The next Met Opera Live broadcast at the Barbican is on 7^th March with Puccini’s Madama Butterfly in a production from the late Anthony Minghella.

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