Lucia di Lammermoor, Met, New York 26. Jan 2009

Gaetano Donizetti
LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR
Metropolitan Opera House, 26. January 2009

Cast
Conductor: Marco Armiliato

Lucia: Anna Netrebko
Edgardo: Rolando Villazón
Enrico: Mariusz Kwiecien
Raimondo: Ildar Abdrazakov
Normanno: Michael Myers
Alisa: Michaela Martens
Arturo: Colin Lee*

Flute Solo: Stefán Ragnar Höskuldsson
Harp Solo: Mariko Anraku
Armonica Solo: Cecilia Brauer

The Production Team
Production: Mary Zimmerman
Set Designer: Daniel Ostling
Costume Designer: Mara Blumenfeld
Lighting Designer: T. J. Gerckens
Choreographer: Daniel Pelzig

The Characters
Lucia: Lucia of Lammermoor is the sister of Enrico. She is in love with her brother's rival, Edgardo, but is forced to marry Arturo against her will.
Enrico: Enrico of Lammermoor is Lucia's brother. He has defeated Edgardo, winning control over the Ravenswood estates. To restore his waning power, he forces Lucia to marry against her will.
Edgardo: Edgardo of Ravenswood has recently lost control of his family's estates to the Lammermoors. He is in love with Lucia and will do anything to marry her.
Arturo: Arturo is a member of the Bucklaw family, and has agreed to marry Lucia in order to unite with the Lammermoor family.
Raimondo: Lucia's tutor.
Normanno: Follower of Enrico.

TV News videoclips


Audio clips with images
Anna Netrebko and Rolando Villazón in the wedding scene.

Anna Netrebko singing the mad scene

Reviews
Anthony Tommasini wrote for The New York Times:

"The impressive qualities of her singing were amply on display as the fragile Lucia, who has fallen in love with the enemy of her clannish family in Scotland, Edgardo, but is forced to marry a wealthy nobleman to rescue the family from financial ruin. Ms. Netrebko remains a glamorous and charismatic singer with an opulent and poignantly lovely voice."

"During her first scene, in the haunting aria “Regnava nel silenzio,” she shaped the arching phrases with rich sound and lyrical suppleness. She has always valued expressive nuances and impetuosity over rhythmic precision and flawless execution."

"Yet during the first part of the mad scene, after Lucia stabs her husband to death on their wedding night, Ms. Netrebko was spellbinding. In the hushed pianissimo passage when the delusional young woman believes she and her beloved Edgardo are at last united, she created vocal magic, imbuing lines with spectral colorings that matched the eerie sounds of the glass harmonica, played by Cecilia Brauer. Her earthy, subdued expressivity had me thinking of Callas."

"Bel Canto Magic in a Scottish Castle Haunted by Pesky High Notes" by Anthony Tommasini - The New York Times, 27. Jan 2009

"Star Tenor Villazon Conks Out, Rallies, Triumphs in Met Show" by Zinta Lundborg - Bloomberg 27. Jan 2009

Richard on rec.music.opera

Related posts
Anna Netrebko makes her Lucia debut at the Met on 26. Jan 2009
21C Media Group press release

Acknowledgements
Elisa, Rhodri, ZvezdanewsTV for uploading the TV news videoclip to Youtube, Hotazzoperastud for uploading the audioclips to Youtube