Heard in the context of a more traditional staging, the contrasting musical moods are poignant and the sextet builds upon the pain felt by everyone, even the headstrong Enrico. The prelude to the great Act II sextet begins – a lighthearted sound that contrasts with the gravity of the event and the singing to follow. At the moment Lucia is forced to sign a marriage contract that binds her to Arturo (her brother Enrico’s choice), Edgardo, her lover, enters. One of the mesmerizing qualities of Lucia lies in Donizetti’s use of opposing musical and dramatic material. Though she was burdened by directorial demands – climbing on a truck for her mad scene, taking an opioid at the pharmacy’s walk-up window, sneaking out her bedroom window to rendezvous with Edgardo – her voice exuded both youthful lightness and rich dramatic coloring.

The director, Simon Stone, seems intent on making us voyeurs – perhaps a comment on the function a passive audience serves or a nod to our social media obsessed culture? Whatever his intentions, we are a long, long way from the Scottish moors.Īmidst all this distraction, Amanda Woodbury prevailed, and her sweet-voiced Lucia rose above the visual and choreographic clutter. Whether it’s Lucia disrobing in her bathroom or the couple’s lovemaking in the motel, intimate moments are projected on an overhead screen along with the surtitles. And if that’s not enough, Lucia and Edgardo, her lover, are followed around by a videographer and her assistant who record their affair with the unceasing eye of reality television. In this LA Opera co-production with the Metropolitan Opera, the seventeenth-century Scottish setting of Lucia di Lammermoor, which is based on Sir Walter Scott’s novel, has been replaced by a kaleidoscopic vision of a present-day, depressed town in America’s rust belt.Ĭrammed on constantly rotating platforms, Lucia’s house, a food mart, a pharmacy, a motel, an ATM machine, a water-treatment plant, a drive-in movie, neon signs and battered cars compete for space. (JRo) Drive-in: Arturo Chacón-Cruz (Edgardo) and Amanda Woodbury (Lucia) © Cory Weaver United States Donizetti, Lucia di Lammermoor:Chorus and Orchestra of LA Opera / Lina González-Granados (conductor).

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