London Coliseum
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Enrico Ashton, a Scottish nobleman, is worrying about his family fortunes and his unstable financial position. In the company of a male chaplain (Raimondo), and his male retainer (Normanno), Enrico decides that the only way to secure his fortune is to force his younger sister to marry Lord Arturo Bucklaw - an affluent gentleman. However, it is brought to his attention that his sister Lucia is in love and having secret meetings with his sworn enemy - Edgardo. Enrico is incandescent with rage and forces Lucia to marry Arturo, persuading her by means of a forged letter. It pretends to be from Edgardo, stating that he has broken their vows in choosing another woman to be his wife. After signing the marriage papers with Arturo, Lucia learns that the declarations in the letters are false, and upon seeing Edgardo, she faints. She is driven mad by her passion for her lost lover and kills her new husband. Her insanity then leads to her own death. When hearing about her death, Edgardo decides that he cannot go on without her, and so kills himself. Each section of the story happens in a different scene and they are clearly separated. Amazingly, this does not render the story in any way detached and instead maps out the plot in a way that is very easy to understand.
Donizetti's music is beautiful and sung brilliantly by the cast. Sarah Tynan is excellent as Lucia, and her silken voice soars. I was also impressed by how much of her character she portrayed through her voice. Despite having to stick to the tempo and tune, she showed clearly her infatuation with Edgardo and then her descent into insanity, her voice a delight to listen to throughout. Clive Bayley as Raimondo was also very impressive with some striking, ground shaking bass notes. Lester Lynch as Enrico produced a powerful performance as did Eleazar Rodriguez as Edgardo. Relatively new to the opera scene as I am, I was mesmerised by their engaging performances and surprised at how much acting there was involved, and the tangible emotions shown even though it is, of course, entirely sung. This production clearly shows opera to be accessible, and whilst it is a journey into the unknown, there are so many traits similar to plays and musicals. It really isn't just people standing on a stage and singing for an audience - the music is used to shape and add colour to the story, and the cast really do act.
The story's surface meaning is clear to see; the torment of a young girl who is taken advantage of by a patriarchal society (apart from Lucia's companion Alisa, every other character is male). The set of this production is incredibly clever and subtly makes apparent the dark subtext of the story. The walls of Enrico's estate are peeling and dilapidated, creating a dark atmosphere right from the beginning, and a sense that the players in our story have always been doomed. When we first meet Lucia, she sits with a stiff back and straight legs on a ledge in front of a huge curtain which looks almost like a puppet theatre. Lucia herself looks like a puppet or a doll, and in the next scene her brother talks to her whist all the time looking at a doll, a sort of effigy of Lucia. As Lucia goes crazy, madly singing her jarring melodies along with the eerie and unusual sound of the glass harmonica, a whole assembly of people come and watch her singing in the puppet theatre-esque structure. The whole design of the opera clearly highlighted Lucia as a plaything of the male dominant society, someone who is manipulated and controlled (like a puppet) by her brother and the other male architects of her demise without any regard for her emotions. Allusions to this theme are scattered throughout and I recommend you look out for them - they make the opera very thought-provoking.
I had no idea that a classical opera could be so riveting and interesting, and it definitely gave me a new perspective on opera. From the wonderful music by Donizetti sung superbly by the cast, to the clever stage design, this production of Lucia di Lammermoor is exciting and captivating. I would thoroughly recommend this to everyone, even if you don't think opera is for you. A brilliant production.
There are lots of ways to save when going to the opera, and there is a really handy summary of all the different methods of saving here: https://www.eno.org/your-visit/ways-to-save-offers/ . There is also the really handy Opera Undressed scheme where you can get £20 tickets to see one of a selection of performances, (for this season The Magic Flute or The Merry Widow) and they include amazing seats, a free drink, and a pre-show performance talk. More information can be found here: https://www.eno.org/your-visit/ways-to-save-offers/opera-undressed/