Lucia di Lammermoor is a tragic opera in three acts written by Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti. The Italian-language libretto was written by Salvadore Cammarano and is based on Walter Scott's 1819 historical novel The Bride of Lammermoor.

Donizetti composed Lucia di Lammermoor in 1835, during the height of his fame as an opera composer. At this time, Gioachino Rossini had recently stopped composing, and Vincenzo Bellini had died before the opera's first performance. This left Donizetti as the most prominent composer of Italian opera. Interest in Scottish history and culture was also growing, as people were fascinated by the country's violent conflicts, feuds, and folklore. Walter Scott's novel The Bride of Lammermoor captured these themes and inspired several musical works, including Lucia di Lammermoor.

The opera's story follows Lucy Ashton (Lucia), a sensitive and emotional woman caught in a conflict between her family and the Ravenswoods. The story takes place in the Lammermuir Hills of Scotland (Lammermoor) during the 17th century.

Performance history

The opera first performed on September 26, 1835, at the Teatro di San Carlo in Naples. John Black observed that the opera became popular slowly in Naples, with 18 performances in the rest of that year, but only four in 1836, 16 in 1837, two in 1838, and continuing with only two performances each in 1847 and 1848.

The opera was performed in London on April 5, 1838. For Paris, Donizetti changed the music for a French version, which premiered on August 6, 1839, at the Théâtre de la Renaissance. The opera arrived in the United States with a performance in New Orleans on May 28, 1841.

From 1903 until 1972, the opera was never missing from the Metropolitan Opera’s schedule for more than one season. After World War II, several sopranos helped revive the opera, including Maria Callas, who performed it at La Scala in 1954 and in Berlin in 1955 with Herbert von Karajan, and Joan Sutherland, who performed it at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden in 1959 and 1960.

The opera has remained a common part of operatic performances.

An aria from the opera, "Il dolce suono," is mentioned in E.M. Forster’s novel Where Angels Fear to Tread. It also appears in Luc Besson’s film The Fifth Element. The Act 2 sextet is shown in Martin Scorsese’s film The Departed.

Instrumentation

The types of instruments used are:

• Woodwinds: piccolo, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, and 2 bassoons
• Brass: 4 horns, 2 trumpets, and 3 trombones
• Percussion: timpani, triangle, bass drum, cymbals, and campana (tubular bells)
• Strings: harp, first violins, second violins, violas, violoncellos, and double basses

An off-stage wind band is also used. Donizetti did not write down the specific instruments for this group. Occasionally, the glass harmonica is used instead of the solo flute during Lucia's mad scene, as written in Donizetti's original score.

Synopsis

• Time: 17th century
• Place: Scotland

Scene 1: The gardens of Lammermoor Castle

Normanno, the captain of the castle guard, and other guards search for an intruder. He tells Enrico that he thinks the man is Edgardo of Ravenswood, who came to the castle to meet Enrico’s sister, Lucia. It is confirmed that Edgardo is the intruder. Enrico repeats his dislike for the Ravenswood family and his plan to stop the relationship between Lucia and Edgardo.

Scene 2: By a fountain at the entrance to the park, beside the castle

Lucia waits for Edgardo. In her well-known song “Regnava nel silenzio,” she tells her maid Alisa that she saw the ghost of a girl who was killed long ago on the same spot by a jealous ancestor of the Ravenswood family. Alisa warns Lucia that the ghost is a warning and that she must stop loving Edgardo. Edgardo arrives and must leave quickly for France because of political issues. He hopes to reconcile with Enrico and marry Lucia. Lucia says this is impossible, so they promise to marry and exchange rings. Edgardo leaves.

Scene 1: Lord Ashton’s apartments

Plans are being made for Lucia’s upcoming wedding to Arturo. Enrico is worried that Lucia will not agree to the marriage. He shows his sister a fake letter that seems to prove Edgardo has forgotten her and is now in love with someone else. Enrico leaves Lucia to be persuaded by Raimondo, Lucia’s chaplain and teacher, to give up her promise to Edgardo for the family’s benefit and marry Arturo.

Scene 2: A hall in the castle

Arturo arrives for the wedding. Lucia appears upset, but Enrico says this is because of her mother’s recent death. Arturo signs the marriage contract, and Lucia reluctantly signs it too. Suddenly, Edgardo appears in the hall, leading to the famous group of six characters singing together in “Chi mi frena in tal momento.” Raimondo stops a fight and shows Edgardo Lucia’s signature on the contract. Edgardo calls her bad names and demands they return

Music

The cabaletta "Spargi d'amaro pianto" follows the more lyrical "Il dolce suono" from the "mad scene" (Act 3, Scene 2). This piece has historically been a chance for several coloratura sopranos (sopranos known for their ability to sing high, fast notes) to perform, including Dame Joan Sutherland, who gained recognition through it. The piece is both technically and emotionally challenging. Donizetti originally composed it in F major, but it is often performed in E-flat, which is a tone lower than F major. Some sopranos, such as Ruth Welting, Mariella Devia, Mady Mesplé, and Lily Pons, have performed the "mad scene" in F major, though E-flat is more commonly used.

Other sopranos, like Katia Ricciarelli and Montserrat Caballé, have performed the scene "as written," adding only a small amount of ornamentation (such as trills, mordents, and runs). Caballé even performed the mad scene in F major. Most sopranos, however, add ornamentation to show their technical skill, as was common during the bel canto period. This includes adding trills, mordents, turns, runs, and cadenzas. Nearly all sopranos add cadenzas at the end of the "mad scene," sometimes ending on a high note (E-flat or F, depending on the key, though Mado Robin has used an even higher B-flat).

The original version of this scene was written for glass harmonica and soprano. However, an adaptation for flute and soprano has been more commonly performed, mainly for practical reasons. In 2006, glass harmonica players Sascha Reckert and Philipp Alexander Marguerre revived Donizetti's original vision at Opera La Scala in Milan, accompanying Mariella Devia. Since then, they have brought Donizetti's original score back to major opera houses, including Teatro di San Carlo, where the opera premiered. Friedrich Heinrich Kern, working with Reckert and Marguerre as Ensemble Sinfonia di Vetro, has revived the original performance style in the United States, recently featured in productions of Lucia di Lammermoor at the Metropolitan Opera, Santa Fe Opera, and Opera Philadelphia.

The popular soprano and flute duet cadenza was composed in 1888 by Mathilde Marchesi for her student Nellie Melba’s performance. This addition required ten weeks of rehearsal and led to renewed interest in the opera.

The index of Bonynge's edition lists the following numbers:

• "Preludio" Act 1
• "Percorrete le spiaggie vicine"
• "Tu sei turbato!"
• "Cruda, funesta smania" (Enrico)
• "La pietade in suo favore" (Enrico)
• "Ancor non giunse!" (Lucia)
• "Regnava nel silenzio" (Lucia)
• "Quando rapito in estasi" (Lucia)
• "Egli s'avanza" (Alisa, Edgardo, Lucia)
• "Sulla tomba che rinserra" (Edgardo, Lucia)
• "Qui di sposa eterna fede… Ah! Verranno a te sull'aure" (Edgardo, Lucia)

Act 2
12. "Lucia, fra poco a te verrà"
13. "Appressati, Lucia"
14. "Il pallor funesto, orrendo"
15. "Soffriva nel pianto"
16. "Che fia"
17. "Se tradirmi tu potrai"
18. "Ebben? – Di tua speranza"
19. "Ah! cedi, cedi" (Raimondo)
20. "Al ben de' tuoi qual vittima" (Raimondo)
21. "Per te d'immenso giubilo"
22. "Dov'è Lucia?"
23. "Chi mi frena in tal momento" (sextet)
24. "T'allontana sciagurato"

Act 3
25. "Orrida è questa notte"
26. "Qui del padre ancor respira"
27. "D'immenso giubilo"
28. "Ah! cessate quel contento"
29. "Oh! qual funesto avvenimento!"
30. "Oh, giusto cielo!… Il dolce suono" (Lucia, "Mad Scene")
31. "Ohimè! sorge il tremendo fantasma"
32. "S'avanza Enrico"
33. "Spargi d'amaro pianto"
34. "Si tragga altrove"
35. "Tombe degli avi miei" (Edgardo)
36. "Fra poco a me ricovero"
37. "Oh meschina!"
38. "Tu che a Dio spiegasti l'ali" (Edgardo)

Lucie de Lammermoor(French version)

After Lucia di Lammermoor was performed in Paris, a French version with four acts was created for the Théâtre de la Renaissance in Paris. At that time, Donizetti was living in Paris and working on revising Poliuto into its French version, which later became Les Martyrs. The French version of Lucia, called Lucie, premiered on August 6, 1839, and was performed in many places across France. The story was written by Alphonse Royer and Gustave Vaëz, and it is not just a direct translation of the Italian version. Donizetti changed some scenes and characters. For example, the character Alisa, who was Lucia’s servant and close friend, was removed from the story. This change focuses more on Lucia, making the story more emotionally powerful. Also, Lucia receives less support from Raimondo, whose role becomes smaller, while Arturo’s role becomes more important. Donizetti added a new character named Gilbert, who is loosely based on the huntsman in the Italian version. Gilbert is a more detailed character who helps both Edgardo and Enrico, but he tells their secrets to the other for money.

The French version of Lucia is performed less often than the Italian version. However, it was successfully revived in 2002 by Natalie Dessay and Roberto Alagna at the Opéra National de Lyon. This production was also co-created by the Boston Lyric Opera and the Glimmerglass Opera. In 2005, Sarah Coburn performed the role of Lucia for the first time in this French version. In 2008, the French version was performed again by the Cincinnati Opera, with Coburn once more playing the title role.

Recordings

Lucia has been recorded in over twenty professional studio recordings and many more live performances. Some of these recordings include English translations of two French versions and one original Italian version. The first complete recording was made in 1929, with Lorenzo Molajoli conducting the La Scala Orchestra and Chorus, and Mercedes Capsir singing the lead role. Maria Callas has performed in several recordings as Lucia, including two studio recordings conducted by Tullio Serafin in 1953 and 1959, and two live recordings conducted by Herbert von Karajan in 1954 and 1955. Joan Sutherland, known for her performances as Lucia, was recorded in the role multiple times, including a 1971 recording by Decca Records with Richard Bonynge conducting and Luciano Pavarotti singing the role of Edgardo. In 2002, Chandos Records released an English version of the opera with David Parry conducting and Elizabeth Futral in the role of Lucia. Video recordings of the opera have also been released, including one in French. Charles Mackerras returned to Donizetti's original handwritten score and created a new version of the music. He restored the original key structure, and the Mad Scene is different in this version. Mackerras recorded this edition for Sony in 1997. Another recording features Diana Damrau as Lucia, with Joseph Calleja as Edgardo and Ludovic Tézier as Enrico.