Lucia di Lammermoor, Royal Opera House review ★★★★★
A thrilling new cast renews a fine production of Donizetti's tragic opera
Nadine Sierra in the title role of Covent Garden's Lucia di Lammermoor. Photo: Camilla Greenwell
Independent but bullied, isolated but constantly observed, Lucia Ashton is a complex character who, in arguably Donizetti's finest opera, spirals down from quick-wittedness to madness, driven to her death by the sea of men around her.
At the Royal Opera House, a revival of Katie Mitchell's visually striking Lucia di Lammermoor fields a cast of outstanding singers, headed by American soprano Nadine Sierra in this demanding title role. We last saw her making her house debut as feisty Adina in the same composer's comedy L'Elisir d'Amore. (Prolific Donizetti's capacity for writing both comedies and tragedies was famed, a cartoonist of the day showed him composing one of each at the same time, with left and right hands.)
In L'Elisir, Sierra's Adina was frolicking in a haystack; she was very much her own woman, like Lucia, but unlike Lucia not brought down by men. Delectable as Adina, she dazzles again as Lucia, with breathtaking technique, the famously high and ornate passages scaled with passion, precision and polish. This musicality and a compelling stage presence needed only a comparably superlative singer playing opposite her to complete the picture.
Nadine Sierra (Lucia) and Xabier Anduaga (Edgardo). Photo: Camilla Greenwell
And, almost miraculously, here he is, in the form of Spanish-born Xabier Anduaga, making a debonaire house debut with his expansive, deliciously sonorous and richly textured voice. As Edgardo, Lucia's secret lover, he has plenty to do, but already I cannot wait to hear more of him. He is still under 30. Watch him – and hear him – wing his way through the Italian repertoire in years to come. It promises to be a terrific flight.
Two outstanding singers, then. Who could ask for anything more? But there is more, lots of it. Her family's fortunes in peril, its future has been secured by Lucia's brother, Enrico, who has promised her to the powerful Arturo. While she and Edgardo regard themselves as married – and in this production, Lucia is pregnant by him – she is to wed Arturo, at once. Banished Edgardo returns to find her signature on the marriage contract and the dreaded wedding night about to begin.
From the outset, unworthy Enrico is brilliantly sung by Polish baritone Artur Ruciński. It would be hard to like a villain more. Uruguayan tenor Andrés Presno presents a suitably stolid and colourless Arturo. Insung Sim sings pastor Raimondo with an authority that only slipped briefly on first night, and there is a very touching performance by Rachel Lloyd as Lucia's maid and confidante Alisa. Lucia's sole other companions are the ghostly figures of a young female murder victim and of her mother, who has recently died.
Artur Ruciński (Enrico) and Andrés Presno (Arturo). Photo: Camilla Greenwell
Donizetti based his opera on a novel by the now unfashionable Sir Walter Scott, and Mitchell wisely keeps the gothic tale firmly rooted in its Victorian Scottish gloom, in Vicki Mortimer's deliberately oppressive design, superbly lit by Jon Clark.
The story unfolds across a series of split scenes – each one showing both the internal life of Lucia and the external life of the household. When the latter flows into the former, there is a terrible sense of intrusion: the innumerable men (even some of the chaps in the billiard room are women) feel free to infiltrate her bedroom, her bathroom….
Giacomo Sagripanti conducting the orchestra and chorus of the Royal Opera, brought the solo flautist out of the pit and up on to the stage for the curtain calls. She and the agile Sierra had duetted thrillingly in the so-called 'mad scene', as Lucia's wits take flight from her suffering body. This is opera at its best – simultaneously vast and intimate, and ever renewed by a new generation of exciting performers. And you will wait a long time to hear singing as good as this.
Lucia di Lammermoor is sung in Italian with English surtitles. Further performances are on 22, 25, 30 April; 2, 8, 10, 14, 18 May, with a different cast on some dates. Click here for casting and booking
At the Royal Opera House, a revival of Katie Mitchell's visually striking Lucia di Lammermoor fields a cast of outstanding singers, headed by American soprano Nadine Sierra in this demanding title role. We last saw her making her house debut as feisty Adina in the same composer's comedy L'Elisir d'Amore. (Prolific Donizetti's capacity for writing both comedies and tragedies was famed, a cartoonist of the day showed him composing one of each at the same time, with left and right hands.)
In L'Elisir, Sierra's Adina was frolicking in a haystack; she was very much her own woman, like Lucia, but unlike Lucia not brought down by men. Delectable as Adina, she dazzles again as Lucia, with breathtaking technique, the famously high and ornate passages scaled with passion, precision and polish. This musicality and a compelling stage presence needed only a comparably superlative singer playing opposite her to complete the picture.
Nadine Sierra (Lucia) and Xabier Anduaga (Edgardo). Photo: Camilla Greenwell
And, almost miraculously, here he is, in the form of Spanish-born Xabier Anduaga, making a debonaire house debut with his expansive, deliciously sonorous and richly textured voice. As Edgardo, Lucia's secret lover, he has plenty to do, but already I cannot wait to hear more of him. He is still under 30. Watch him – and hear him – wing his way through the Italian repertoire in years to come. It promises to be a terrific flight.
Two outstanding singers, then. Who could ask for anything more? But there is more, lots of it. Her family's fortunes in peril, its future has been secured by Lucia's brother, Enrico, who has promised her to the powerful Arturo. While she and Edgardo regard themselves as married – and in this production, Lucia is pregnant by him – she is to wed Arturo, at once. Banished Edgardo returns to find her signature on the marriage contract and the dreaded wedding night about to begin.
From the outset, unworthy Enrico is brilliantly sung by Polish baritone Artur Ruciński. It would be hard to like a villain more. Uruguayan tenor Andrés Presno presents a suitably stolid and colourless Arturo. Insung Sim sings pastor Raimondo with an authority that only slipped briefly on first night, and there is a very touching performance by Rachel Lloyd as Lucia's maid and confidante Alisa. Lucia's sole other companions are the ghostly figures of a young female murder victim and of her mother, who has recently died.
Artur Ruciński (Enrico) and Andrés Presno (Arturo). Photo: Camilla Greenwell
Donizetti based his opera on a novel by the now unfashionable Sir Walter Scott, and Mitchell wisely keeps the gothic tale firmly rooted in its Victorian Scottish gloom, in Vicki Mortimer's deliberately oppressive design, superbly lit by Jon Clark.
The story unfolds across a series of split scenes – each one showing both the internal life of Lucia and the external life of the household. When the latter flows into the former, there is a terrible sense of intrusion: the innumerable men (even some of the chaps in the billiard room are women) feel free to infiltrate her bedroom, her bathroom….
Giacomo Sagripanti conducting the orchestra and chorus of the Royal Opera, brought the solo flautist out of the pit and up on to the stage for the curtain calls. She and the agile Sierra had duetted thrillingly in the so-called 'mad scene', as Lucia's wits take flight from her suffering body. This is opera at its best – simultaneously vast and intimate, and ever renewed by a new generation of exciting performers. And you will wait a long time to hear singing as good as this.
Lucia di Lammermoor is sung in Italian with English surtitles. Further performances are on 22, 25, 30 April; 2, 8, 10, 14, 18 May, with a different cast on some dates. Click here for casting and booking
TRY CULTURE WHISPER
Receive free tickets & insider tips to unlock the best of London — direct to your inbox
| What | Lucia di Lammermoor, Royal Opera House review |
| Where | Royal Opera House, Bow Street, Covent Garden, London, WC2E 9DD | MAP |
| Nearest tube | Covent Garden (underground) |
| When |
19 Apr 24 – 18 May 24, Nine performances, start times vary. Running time 3hr 10min including one interval |
| Price | £10-£210 |
| Website | Click here for details and booking |