Lucia di Lammermoor
Encyclopedia
Lucia di Lammermoor is a dramma tragico (tragic opera
) in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti
. Salvadore Cammarano wrote the Italian language libretto
loosely based upon Sir Walter Scott
's historical novel The Bride of Lammermoor
.
Donizetti wrote Lucia di Lammermoor in 1835, a time when several factors led to the height of his reputation as a composer of opera. Gioachino Rossini had recently retired and Vincenzo Bellini
had died shortly before the premier of Lucia leaving Donizetti as "the sole reigning genius of Italian opera". Not only were conditions ripe for Donizetti's success as a composer, but there was also a European interest in the history and culture of Scotland. The perceived romance of its violent wars and feuds, as well as its folklore and mythology, intrigued 19th century readers and audiences. Sir Walter Scott
made use of these stereotypes in his novel The Bride of Lammermoor, which inspired several musical works including Lucia.
The story concerns the emotionally fragile Lucy Ashton (Lucia) who is caught in a feud between her own family and that of the Ravenswoods. The setting is the Lammermuir Hills
of Scotland (Lammermoor) in the 17th century.
. Donizetti revised the score for a French
version which debuted on 6 August 1839 at the Théâtre de la Renaissance
in Paris.
However, for decades Lucia was considered to be a mere showpiece for coloratura
sopranos and was a little-known part of the operatic repertory. After World War II, a small number of technically able sopranos, the most notable of whom were first Maria Callas
(with performances from 1952 and especially those at La Scala
and Berlin in 1954/55 under Herbert von Karajan
) and then Dame Joan Sutherland
(with her 1959 performances at the Royal Opera House
Covent Garden
in 1959, which were repeated in 1960), revived the opera in all of its original tragic glory.
Since its revival, Lucia di Lammermoor has become a staple of the standard operatic repertoire, and appears as number nineteen on the Operabase
list of the most-performed operas worldwide.
Normanno, captain of the castle guard, and other retainers are searching for an intruder. He tells Enrico that he believes that the man is Edgardo, and that he comes to the castle to meet Lucia. It is confirmed that Edgardo is indeed the intruder. Enrico reaffirms his hatred for the family and his determination to end the relationship.
Scene 2: By a fountain at the entrance to the park, beside the castle
Lucia waits for Edgardo. In her famous aria Regnava nel Silenzio, Lucia tells her maid Alisa that she has seen the ghost of a girl killed on the very same spot by a jealous Ravenswood ancestor. Alisa tells Lucia that the apparition is a warning and that she must give up her love for Edgardo. Edgardo enters; for political reasons, he must leave immediately for France. He hopes to make his peace with Enrico and marry Lucia. Lucia tells him this is impossible, and instead they take a sworn vow of marriage and exchange rings. Edgardo leaves.
Scene 1: Lord Ashton's apartments in Lammermoor Castle
Preparations have been made for the imminent wedding of Lucia to Arturo. Enrico worries about whether Lucia will really submit to the wedding. He shows his sister a forged letter seemingly proving that Edgardo has forgotten her and taken a new lover. Enrico leaves Lucia to further persuasion this time by Raimondo, Lucia's chaplain and tutor, that she should renounce her vow to Edgardo, for the good of the family, and marry Arturo.
Scene 2: A hall in the castle
Arturo arrives for the marriage. Lucia acts strangely, but Enrico explains that this is due to the death of her mother. Arturo signs the marriage contract, followed reluctantly by Lucia. At that point Edgardo suddenly appears in the hall. Raimondo prevents a fight, but he shows Lucia's signature on the marriage contract to Edgardo. He curses her, demanding that they return their rings to each other. He tramples his ring on the ground, before being forced out of the castle.
Enrico visits Edgardo to challenge him to a duel. He tells him that Lucia is already enjoying her bridal bed. Edgardo agrees to fight him. They will meet later by the graveyard of the Ravenswoods, near the Wolf's Crag.
Scene 2: A Hall in Lammermoor Castle
Raimondo interrupts the marriage celebrations to tell the guests that Lucia has gone mad and killed her bridegroom Arturo. Lucia enters. In the aria 'Il dolce suono' she imagines being with Edgardo, soon to be happily married. Enrico enters and at first threatens Lucia but later softens when he realizes her condition. Lucia collapses. Raimondo blames Normanno for precipitating the whole tragedy.
Scene 3: The graveyard of the Ravenswood family
Edgardo is resolved to kill himself on Enrico's sword. He learns that Lucia is dying and then Raimondo comes to tell him that she has already died. Edgardo stabs himself with a dagger, hoping to be reunited with Lucia in heaven.
", "Il dolce suono
...Spargi d'amaro pianto", has historically been a vehicle for several coloratura soprano
s (providing a breakthrough for Dame Joan Sutherland
) and is a technically and expressively demanding piece.
Some sopranos, most notably Maria Callas
, have performed the scene in a come scritto ("as written") fashion, adding minimal ornamentation to their interpretations. Most sopranos, however, add ornamentation to demonstrate their technical ability, as was the tradition in the bel canto
period. This involves the addition and interpolation of trill
s, mordent
s, turns, runs and cadenza
s. Almost all sopranos append cadenzas to the end of the "Mad Scene", sometimes ending them on a high E-flat. Some sopranos, including Ruth Welting and Mariella Devia
have sung the mad scene in Donizetti's original F major key, ending it with a high F natural instead of transposing it one step down to the E-flat major key.
The original scoring of this scene was for glass harmonica, but this was later replaced by the more usual arrangement with two flutes.
The popular soprano and flute duet cadenza was composed in 1888 by Mathilde Marchesi
for her student Nellie Melba
's performance of the role, requiring ten weeks of rehearsal for the new addition and causing a critical reevaluation and surge of new interest in the opera.
1. "Preludio"
Act 1
2. "Percorrete le spiaggie vicine"
3. "Tu sei turbato!"
4. "Cruda, funesta smania" (Enrico)
5. "La pietade in suo favore" (Enrico)
6. "Ancor non giunse!" (Lucia)
7. "Regnava nel silenzio" (Lucia)
8. "Quando rapito in estasi" (Lucia)
9. "Egli s'avanza" (Alisa, Edgardo, Lucia)
10. "Sulla tomba che rinserra" (Edgardo, Lucia)
11. "Qui di sposa eterna...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)
in Paris and opened on 6 August 1839. Subsequently this version was extensively toured throughout France. The libretto, written by Alphonse Royer
and Gustave Vaëz, is not simply a translation, as Donizetti altered some of the scenes and characters. One of the more notable changes is the disappearance of Alisa, Lucia's friend. This allows the French version to isolate Lucia and to leave a stronger emotional impact than that left by the original. Furthermore, Lucia loses most of Raimondo's support; his role is dramatically diminished while Arturo gets a bigger part. Donizetti creates a new character, Gilbert, who is loosely based on the huntsman in the Italian version. However, Gilbert is a more developed figure and serves both Edgardo and Enrico, divulging their secrets to the other for money.
The French version is not performed as often as the Italian, but it was revived to great acclaim by Natalie Dessay
and Roberto Alagna
at the Opéra National de Lyon
in 2002. It was also co-produced by the Boston Lyric Opera
and the Glimmerglass Opera
with Sarah Coburn
singing the title role as her first "Lucia" in this French version in 2005. In 2008 Lucie was produced by the Cincinnati Opera
with Sarah Coburn
again in the title role.
Orchestra and Chorus and Mercedes Capsir
in the title role. There are several recordings with Maria Callas
in the title role, including two versions conducted by Tullio Serafin
(1953 and 1959) and one by Herbert von Karajan (1955). Joan Sutherland
, who was particularly noted for performances as Lucia, has also recorded the opera several times including the 1971 Decca
recording conducted by Richard Bonynge
with Luciano Pavarotti
as Edgardo. In 2002, Chandos Records
released a recording in English of the Italian version conducted by David Parry with Elizabeth Futral
As Lucia.
, Antonio Scotti
, Marcel Journet
, Barbara Severina, and Francesco Daddi, (Victor single-sided 70036) and released at the price of $7.00, earning it the title of "The Seven-Dollar Sextet". The film The Great Caruso
incorporates a scene featuring a performance of this sextet. The sextet's melody is used in Howard Hawks
' gangster classic Scarface
. Tony Camonte (Paul Muni
) whistles "Chi mi frena?" whenever he is about to kill someone, and the tune becomes a signifier for his murders. The "Lucia Sextet" melody also figures in two scenes from the 2006 film The Departed
, directed by Martin Scorsese
. In one scene, Jack Nicholson
's character is shown at a performance of "Lucia di Lammermoor", and the music on the soundtrack is from the sextet. Later in the film, Nicholson's cell phone ringtone is the sextet melody. The sextet has also been used in comedy and cartoon films. The American slapstick
team, The Three Stooges used it in their short films Micro-Phonies
and Squareheads of the Round Table
, sung in the latter with the lyrics "Oh, Elaine, Elaine, come out ....", and it is featured during a scene from the 1986 comedy film, The Money Pit
. Its use in Warner Bros.
cartoons includes Long-Haired Hare
, sung by the opera singer (Bugs Bunny's antagonist); Book Revue
, sung by the wolf antagonist; and in Back Alley Oproar
, sung by a choir full of Sylvester
s, the cat. In the 1946 Disney short, The Whale Who Wanted To Sing At The Met, the sextet appears in a unique interpretation with all parts performed by Nelson Eddy
.
The "mad scene" aria "Il dolce suono
" was featured in the Luc Besson
film The Fifth Element
in a performance by the alien diva Plavalaguna (voiced by Albanian soprano Inva Mula
and played onscreen by French actress Maïwenn Le Besco
). Mula's performance is also used in an episode of Law & Order: Criminal Intent
involving the murder of a young violinist by her opera singer mother (who performs the song right after the murder). Mula's performance is also used as a backdrop to "The Eye of Zion's Pocket" incorrectly credited to the Chemical Brothers for the Matrix Reloaded soundtrack (the original artist is unknown). The aria was covered by Russian pop singer Vitas
over a heavily reworked orchestral techno score and released as a music video in 2006. In addition to the "mad scene", "Verranno a te sull'aure", and "Che facesti?" feature prominently in the 1983 Paul Cox
film Man of Flowers
, especially "Verranno a te sull'aure", which accompanies a striptease in the film's opening scene. "Regnava nel silenzio" accompanies the scene in Beetlejuice
in which Lydia (Winona Ryder
) composes a suicide note.
The opera is mentioned in the novels The Count of Monte Cristo
, Madame Bovary
, The Hotel New Hampshire
, and Where Angels Fear to Tread
and was reputedly one of Tolstoy's favorites. In the children's book The Cricket in Times Square, Chester Cricket chirps the tenor part to the "Lucia Sextet" as the encore to his farewell concert, literally stopping traffic in the process.
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
) in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti
Gaetano Donizetti
Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti was an Italian composer from Bergamo, Lombardy. His best-known works are the operas L'elisir d'amore , Lucia di Lammermoor , and Don Pasquale , all in Italian, and the French operas La favorite and La fille du régiment...
. Salvadore Cammarano wrote the Italian language libretto
Libretto
A libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata, or musical. The term "libretto" is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as mass, requiem, and sacred cantata, or even the story line of a...
loosely based upon Sir Walter Scott
Walter Scott
Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet was a Scottish historical novelist, playwright, and poet, popular throughout much of the world during his time....
's historical novel The Bride of Lammermoor
The Bride of Lammermoor
The Bride of Lammermoor is a historical novel by Sir Walter Scott, set in Scotland in the reign of Queen Anne . The novel tells of a tragic love affair between Lucy Ashton and her family's enemy Edgar Ravenswood. Scott indicated the plot was based on an actual incident...
.
Donizetti wrote Lucia di Lammermoor in 1835, a time when several factors led to the height of his reputation as a composer of opera. Gioachino Rossini had recently retired and Vincenzo Bellini
Vincenzo Bellini
Vincenzo Salvatore Carmelo Francesco Bellini was an Italian opera composer. His greatest works are I Capuleti ed i Montecchi , La sonnambula , Norma , Beatrice di Tenda , and I puritani...
had died shortly before the premier of Lucia leaving Donizetti as "the sole reigning genius of Italian opera". Not only were conditions ripe for Donizetti's success as a composer, but there was also a European interest in the history and culture of Scotland. The perceived romance of its violent wars and feuds, as well as its folklore and mythology, intrigued 19th century readers and audiences. Sir Walter Scott
Walter Scott
Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet was a Scottish historical novelist, playwright, and poet, popular throughout much of the world during his time....
made use of these stereotypes in his novel The Bride of Lammermoor, which inspired several musical works including Lucia.
The story concerns the emotionally fragile Lucy Ashton (Lucia) who is caught in a feud between her own family and that of the Ravenswoods. The setting is the Lammermuir Hills
Lammermuir Hills
The Lammermuir Hills, usually simply called the Lammermuirs , in southern Scotland, form a natural boundary between Lothian and the Scottish Borders....
of Scotland (Lammermoor) in the 17th century.
Performance history
The opera premiered on 26 September 1835 at the Teatro San Carlo in NaplesNaples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
. Donizetti revised the score for a French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
version which debuted on 6 August 1839 at the Théâtre de la Renaissance
Théâtre de la Renaissance
The name Théâtre de la Renaissance has been used successively for three distinct Parisian theatre companies. The first two companies, which were short-lived enterprises in the 19th century, used the Salle Ventadour, now an office building on the Rue Méhul in the 2nd arrondissement.The current...
in Paris.
However, for decades Lucia was considered to be a mere showpiece for coloratura
Coloratura
Coloratura has several meanings. The word is originally from Italian, literally meaning "coloring", and derives from the Latin word colorare . When used in English, the term specifically refers to elaborate melody, particularly in vocal music and especially in operatic singing of the 18th and...
sopranos and was a little-known part of the operatic repertory. After World War II, a small number of technically able sopranos, the most notable of whom were first Maria Callas
Maria Callas
Maria Callas was an American-born Greek soprano and one of the most renowned opera singers of the 20th century. She combined an impressive bel canto technique, a wide-ranging voice and great dramatic gifts...
(with performances from 1952 and especially those at La Scala
La Scala
La Scala , is a world renowned opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the New Royal-Ducal Theatre at La Scala...
and Berlin in 1954/55 under Herbert von Karajan
Herbert von Karajan
Herbert von Karajan was an Austrian orchestra and opera conductor. To the wider world he was perhaps most famously associated with the Berlin Philharmonic, of which he was principal conductor for 35 years...
) and then Dame Joan Sutherland
Joan Sutherland
Dame Joan Alston Sutherland, OM, AC, DBE was an Australian dramatic coloratura soprano noted for her contribution to the renaissance of the bel canto repertoire from the late 1950s through to the 1980s....
(with her 1959 performances at the Royal Opera House
Royal Opera House
The Royal Opera House is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply "Covent Garden", after a previous use of the site of the opera house's original construction in 1732. It is the home of The Royal Opera, The...
Covent Garden
Covent Garden
Covent Garden is a district in London on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St. Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit and vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist site, and the Royal Opera House, which is also known as...
in 1959, which were repeated in 1960), revived the opera in all of its original tragic glory.
Since its revival, Lucia di Lammermoor has become a staple of the standard operatic repertoire, and appears as number nineteen on the Operabase
Operabase
Operabase is an on-line database of opera performances, opera houses and companies, performers themselves as well as their agents. Operabase, found at operabase.com, is owned and operated by Operabase Ltd, a company located in Luton, England. The site started in 1996 as the hobby of Mike Gibb,...
list of the most-performed operas worldwide.
Roles
| Role | Voice type Voice type A voice type is a particular kind of human singing voice perceived as having certain identifying qualities or characteristics. Voice classification is the process by which human voices are evaluated and are thereby designated into voice types... |
Premiere cast, 26 September 1835 (Conductor: – ) |
|---|---|---|
| Lucia | coloratura soprano Coloratura soprano A coloratura soprano is a type of operatic soprano who specializes in music that is distinguished by agile runs and leaps. The term coloratura refers to the elaborate ornamentation of a melody, which is a typical component of the music written for this voice... |
Fanny Tacchinardi Persiani Fanny Tacchinardi Persiani Fanny Tacchinardi Persiani was an Italian soprano particularly associated with bel canto composers, such as Rossini, Donizetti, Bellini, and early Verdi... |
| Lord Enrico Ashton, Lord of Lammermoor; Lucia's brother | baritone Baritone Baritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or... |
Domenico Cosselli Domenico Cosselli Domenico Cosselli was an Italian operatic bass-baritone, particularly associated with Rossini operas.He began his vocal studies in his native city in 1814 and made his stage debut there in 1821... |
| Sir Edgardo di Ravenswood | tenor Tenor The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2... |
Gilbert Louis Duprez |
| Lord Arturo Bucklaw, Lucia's bridegroom | tenor | Balestrieri |
| Raimondo Bidebent, a Calvinist chaplain | bass Bass (voice type) A bass is a type of male singing voice and possesses the lowest vocal range of all voice types. According to The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, a bass is typically classified as having a range extending from around the second E below middle C to the E above middle C... |
Carlo Ottolini Porto |
| Alisa, Lucia's handmaid | mezzo-soprano Mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano is a type of classical female singing voice whose range lies between the soprano and the contralto singing voices, usually extending from the A below middle C to the A two octaves above... |
Teresa Zappucci |
| Normanno, huntsman; a retainer of Enrico | tenor | Anafesto Rossi |
| Retainers and servants, wedding guests | ||
Act 1
Scene 1: The gardens of Lammermoor CastleNormanno, captain of the castle guard, and other retainers are searching for an intruder. He tells Enrico that he believes that the man is Edgardo, and that he comes to the castle to meet Lucia. It is confirmed that Edgardo is indeed the intruder. Enrico reaffirms his hatred for the family and his determination to end the relationship.
Scene 2: By a fountain at the entrance to the park, beside the castle
Lucia waits for Edgardo. In her famous aria Regnava nel Silenzio, Lucia tells her maid Alisa that she has seen the ghost of a girl killed on the very same spot by a jealous Ravenswood ancestor. Alisa tells Lucia that the apparition is a warning and that she must give up her love for Edgardo. Edgardo enters; for political reasons, he must leave immediately for France. He hopes to make his peace with Enrico and marry Lucia. Lucia tells him this is impossible, and instead they take a sworn vow of marriage and exchange rings. Edgardo leaves.
Act 2
Preparations have been made for the imminent wedding of Lucia to Arturo. Enrico worries about whether Lucia will really submit to the wedding. He shows his sister a forged letter seemingly proving that Edgardo has forgotten her and taken a new lover. Enrico leaves Lucia to further persuasion this time by Raimondo, Lucia's chaplain and tutor, that she should renounce her vow to Edgardo, for the good of the family, and marry Arturo.
Scene 2: A hall in the castle
Arturo arrives for the marriage. Lucia acts strangely, but Enrico explains that this is due to the death of her mother. Arturo signs the marriage contract, followed reluctantly by Lucia. At that point Edgardo suddenly appears in the hall. Raimondo prevents a fight, but he shows Lucia's signature on the marriage contract to Edgardo. He curses her, demanding that they return their rings to each other. He tramples his ring on the ground, before being forced out of the castle.
Act 3
Scene 1: The Wolf's CragEnrico visits Edgardo to challenge him to a duel. He tells him that Lucia is already enjoying her bridal bed. Edgardo agrees to fight him. They will meet later by the graveyard of the Ravenswoods, near the Wolf's Crag.
Scene 2: A Hall in Lammermoor Castle
Raimondo interrupts the marriage celebrations to tell the guests that Lucia has gone mad and killed her bridegroom Arturo. Lucia enters. In the aria 'Il dolce suono' she imagines being with Edgardo, soon to be happily married. Enrico enters and at first threatens Lucia but later softens when he realizes her condition. Lucia collapses. Raimondo blames Normanno for precipitating the whole tragedy.
Scene 3: The graveyard of the Ravenswood family
Edgardo is resolved to kill himself on Enrico's sword. He learns that Lucia is dying and then Raimondo comes to tell him that she has already died. Edgardo stabs himself with a dagger, hoping to be reunited with Lucia in heaven.
The "Mad Scene"
The "Mad SceneMad scene
In opera, a mad scene is an enactment of insanity in an opera or play. It was a popular convention of Italian and French opera in the early decades of the nineteenth century....
", "Il dolce suono
Il dolce suono
"Il dolce suono" is the incipit of the recitativo of a "scena ed aria" taken from Act III scene 2, Lucia di Lammermoor by Gaetano Donizetti...
...Spargi d'amaro pianto", has historically been a vehicle for several coloratura soprano
Coloratura soprano
A coloratura soprano is a type of operatic soprano who specializes in music that is distinguished by agile runs and leaps. The term coloratura refers to the elaborate ornamentation of a melody, which is a typical component of the music written for this voice...
s (providing a breakthrough for Dame Joan Sutherland
Joan Sutherland
Dame Joan Alston Sutherland, OM, AC, DBE was an Australian dramatic coloratura soprano noted for her contribution to the renaissance of the bel canto repertoire from the late 1950s through to the 1980s....
) and is a technically and expressively demanding piece.
Some sopranos, most notably Maria Callas
Maria Callas
Maria Callas was an American-born Greek soprano and one of the most renowned opera singers of the 20th century. She combined an impressive bel canto technique, a wide-ranging voice and great dramatic gifts...
, have performed the scene in a come scritto ("as written") fashion, adding minimal ornamentation to their interpretations. Most sopranos, however, add ornamentation to demonstrate their technical ability, as was the tradition in the bel canto
Bel canto
Bel canto , along with a number of similar constructions , is an Italian opera term...
period. This involves the addition and interpolation of trill
Trill (music)
The trill is a musical ornament consisting of a rapid alternation between two adjacent notes, usually a semitone or tone apart, which can be identified with the context of the trill....
s, mordent
Mordent
In music, a mordent is an ornament indicating that the note is to be played with a single rapid alternation with the note above or below. Like trills, they can be chromatically modified by a small flat, sharp or natural accidental...
s, turns, runs and cadenza
Cadenza
In music, a cadenza is, generically, an improvised or written-out ornamental passage played or sung by a soloist or soloists, usually in a "free" rhythmic style, and often allowing for virtuosic display....
s. Almost all sopranos append cadenzas to the end of the "Mad Scene", sometimes ending them on a high E-flat. Some sopranos, including Ruth Welting and Mariella Devia
Mariella Devia
Mariella Devia is an Italian soprano, well known for performing many roles in the bel canto repertoire.Born in Chiusavecchia, Devia trained at the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome with Iolanda Magnoni...
have sung the mad scene in Donizetti's original F major key, ending it with a high F natural instead of transposing it one step down to the E-flat major key.
The original scoring of this scene was for glass harmonica, but this was later replaced by the more usual arrangement with two flutes.
The popular soprano and flute duet cadenza was composed in 1888 by Mathilde Marchesi
Mathilde Marchesi
Mathilde Marchesi was a German mezzo-soprano, a renowned teacher of singing, and a proponent of the bel canto vocal method.-Biography:...
for her student Nellie Melba
Nellie Melba
Dame Nellie Melba GBE , born Helen "Nellie" Porter Mitchell, was an Australian operatic soprano. She became one of the most famous singers of the late Victorian Era and the early 20th century...
's performance of the role, requiring ten weeks of rehearsal for the new addition and causing a critical reevaluation and surge of new interest in the opera.
List of arias and musical numbers
The index of Bonynge's edition lists the following numbers.Act 1
2. "Percorrete le spiaggie vicine"
3. "Tu sei turbato!"
4. "Cruda, funesta smania" (Enrico)
5. "La pietade in suo favore" (Enrico)
6. "Ancor non giunse!" (Lucia)
7. "Regnava nel silenzio" (Lucia)
8. "Quando rapito in estasi" (Lucia)
9. "Egli s'avanza" (Alisa, Edgardo, Lucia)
10. "Sulla tomba che rinserra" (Edgardo, Lucia)
11. "Qui di sposa eterna...Ah! Verranno a te sull'aure" (Edgardo, Lucia)
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"
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 the original had been performed in Paris, a French version of Lucia di Lammermoor was commissioned for the Théâtre de la RenaissanceThéâtre de la Renaissance
The name Théâtre de la Renaissance has been used successively for three distinct Parisian theatre companies. The first two companies, which were short-lived enterprises in the 19th century, used the Salle Ventadour, now an office building on the Rue Méhul in the 2nd arrondissement.The current...
in Paris and opened on 6 August 1839. Subsequently this version was extensively toured throughout France. The libretto, written by Alphonse Royer
Alphonse Royer
Alphonse Royer, was a French author, dramatist and theatre manager, most remembered today for having written the librettos for Gaetano Donizetti's opera La favorite and Giuseppe Verdi's Jérusalem...
and Gustave Vaëz, is not simply a translation, as Donizetti altered some of the scenes and characters. One of the more notable changes is the disappearance of Alisa, Lucia's friend. This allows the French version to isolate Lucia and to leave a stronger emotional impact than that left by the original. Furthermore, Lucia loses most of Raimondo's support; his role is dramatically diminished while Arturo gets a bigger part. Donizetti creates a new character, Gilbert, who is loosely based on the huntsman in the Italian version. However, Gilbert is a more developed figure and serves both Edgardo and Enrico, divulging their secrets to the other for money.
The French version is not performed as often as the Italian, but it was revived to great acclaim by Natalie Dessay
Natalie Dessay
Natalie Dessay is a French coloratura soprano. She dropped the silent "h" in her first name in honor of Natalie Wood when she was in grade school and subsequently simplified the spelling of her surname outside France...
and Roberto Alagna
Roberto Alagna
Roberto Alagna is a French-Italian tenor. He was born in Clichy-sous-Bois, Seine-Saint-Denis, France.-Early years:Alagna was born outside of the city of Paris in 1963 to a family of Sicilian immigrants . As a teenager, the young Alagna began busking and singing pop in Parisian cabarets for tips...
at the Opéra National de Lyon
Opéra National de Lyon
Opéra National de Lyon is an opera company in Lyon, France which performs in the Nouvel Opéra, a modernized version in 1993 of the original 1831 opera house.The inaugural performance of François-Adrien Boïeldieu's La Dame blanche was given on 1 July 1831...
in 2002. It was also co-produced by the Boston Lyric Opera
Boston Lyric Opera
Boston Lyric Opera is an American opera company based in Boston, Massachusetts, founded in 1976.Each season, BLO produces three mainstage productions at the Citi Performing Arts Center Shubert Theatre in Boston and a fully staged, one-hour English language version of a popular opera for school...
and the Glimmerglass Opera
Glimmerglass Opera
Glimmerglass Festival is an opera company which was founded in 1975 by Peter Macris and presents an annual season of operas at the Alice Busch Opera Theater on Otsego Lake eight miles north of Cooperstown, New York, United States.The summer-only season usually consists of four operas performed in...
with Sarah Coburn
Sarah Coburn
Sarah Coburn is an American operatic soprano.-Biography:Sarah Coburn was born in Petersburg, Virginia on August 4, 1977. She graduated from Oklahoma State University and received a Master of Music degree from Oklahoma City University, studying under Larry Wade Keller...
singing the title role as her first "Lucia" in this French version in 2005. In 2008 Lucie was produced by the Cincinnati Opera
Cincinnati Opera
Cincinnati Opera is an American opera company based in Cincinnati, Ohio and the second oldest opera company in the United States .-History:...
with Sarah Coburn
Sarah Coburn
Sarah Coburn is an American operatic soprano.-Biography:Sarah Coburn was born in Petersburg, Virginia on August 4, 1977. She graduated from Oklahoma State University and received a Master of Music degree from Oklahoma City University, studying under Larry Wade Keller...
again in the title role.
Recordings
Both the Italian and French versions have received multiple recordings, although the Italian version predominates. One of the earliest versions was recorded in 1929 with Lorenzo Molajoli conducting the La ScalaLa Scala
La Scala , is a world renowned opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the New Royal-Ducal Theatre at La Scala...
Orchestra and Chorus and Mercedes Capsir
Mercedes Capsir
Mercedes Capsir was a Catalan Spanish opera singer, a high coloratura soprano, particularly associated with light Italian roles, such as Lucia and Gilda.- Life and career :...
in the title role. There are several recordings with Maria Callas
Maria Callas
Maria Callas was an American-born Greek soprano and one of the most renowned opera singers of the 20th century. She combined an impressive bel canto technique, a wide-ranging voice and great dramatic gifts...
in the title role, including two versions conducted by Tullio Serafin
Tullio Serafin
-Biography:Tullio Serafin was a leading Italian opera conductor with a long career and a very broad repertoire who revived many 19th century bel canto operas by Bellini, Rossini and Donizetti to become staples of 20th century repertoire...
(1953 and 1959) and one by Herbert von Karajan (1955). Joan Sutherland
Joan Sutherland
Dame Joan Alston Sutherland, OM, AC, DBE was an Australian dramatic coloratura soprano noted for her contribution to the renaissance of the bel canto repertoire from the late 1950s through to the 1980s....
, who was particularly noted for performances as Lucia, has also recorded the opera several times including the 1971 Decca
Decca Records
Decca Records began as a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; however, owing to World War II, the link with the British company was broken for several decades....
recording conducted by Richard Bonynge
Richard Bonynge
Richard Alan Bonynge, AO, CBE is an Australian conductor and pianist.Bonynge was born in Sydney and educated at Sydney Boys High School before studying piano at the Royal College of Music in London. He gave up his music scholarship, continuing his private piano studies, and became a coach for...
with Luciano Pavarotti
Luciano Pavarotti
right|thumb|Luciano Pavarotti performing at the opening of the Constantine Palace in [[Strelna]], 31 May 2003. The concert was part of the celebrations for the 300th anniversary of [[St...
as Edgardo. In 2002, Chandos Records
Chandos Records
Chandos Records is an independent classical music recording company based in Colchester, Essex, in the United Kingdom, founded in 1979 by Brian Couzens.- Background :...
released a recording in English of the Italian version conducted by David Parry with Elizabeth Futral
Elizabeth Futral
Elizabeth Futral is an American coloratura soprano who has won acclaim throughout the United States as well as in Europe, South America, and Japan....
As Lucia.
Cultural references and adaptations
The "Lucia Sextet" (Chi mi frena in tal momento?) was recorded in 1908 by Enrico Caruso, Marcella SembrichMarcella Sembrich
Marcella Sembrich was the stage name of the Polish coloratura soprano, Prakseda Marcelina Kochańska...
, Antonio Scotti
Antonio Scotti
Antonio Scotti was an Italian baritone. He was a principal artist of the New York Metropolitan Opera for more than 33 seasons, but also sang with great success at London's Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, and Milan's La Scala.-Life:Antonio Scotti was born in Naples, Italy...
, Marcel Journet
Marcel Journet
Marcel Journet , was a French, bass, operatic singer. He enjoyed a prominent career in England, France and Italy, and appeared at the foremost American opera houses in New York City and Chicago....
, Barbara Severina, and Francesco Daddi, (Victor single-sided 70036) and released at the price of $7.00, earning it the title of "The Seven-Dollar Sextet". The film The Great Caruso
The Great Caruso
The Great Caruso is a 1951 biographical film made by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was directed by Richard Thorpe and produced by Joe Pasternak with Jesse L. Lasky as associate producer from a screenplay by Sonya Levien and William Ludwig. The original music was by Johnny Green and the cinematography by...
incorporates a scene featuring a performance of this sextet. The sextet's melody is used in Howard Hawks
Howard Hawks
Howard Winchester Hawks was an American film director, producer and screenwriter of the classic Hollywood era...
' gangster classic Scarface
Scarface (1932 film)
Scarface is a 1932 American gangster film starring Paul Muni and George Raft, produced by Howard Hughes, directed by Howard Hawks and Richard Rosson, and written by Ben Hecht based on the 1929 novel of the same name by Armitage Trail...
. Tony Camonte (Paul Muni
Paul Muni
Paul Muni was an Austrian-Hungarian-born American stage and film actor...
) whistles "Chi mi frena?" whenever he is about to kill someone, and the tune becomes a signifier for his murders. The "Lucia Sextet" melody also figures in two scenes from the 2006 film The Departed
The Departed
The Departed is a 2006 American crime thriller film, fashioned as a remake of the 2002 Hong Kong film Infernal Affairs. The film was directed by Martin Scorsese and written by William Monahan...
, directed by Martin Scorsese
Martin Scorsese
Martin Charles Scorsese is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and film historian. In 1990 he founded The Film Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to film preservation, and in 2007 he founded the World Cinema Foundation...
. In one scene, Jack Nicholson
Jack Nicholson
John Joseph "Jack" Nicholson is an American actor, film director, producer and writer. He is renowned for his often dark portrayals of neurotic characters. Nicholson has been nominated for an Academy Award twelve times, and has won the Academy Award for Best Actor twice: for One Flew Over the...
's character is shown at a performance of "Lucia di Lammermoor", and the music on the soundtrack is from the sextet. Later in the film, Nicholson's cell phone ringtone is the sextet melody. The sextet has also been used in comedy and cartoon films. The American slapstick
Slapstick
Slapstick is a type of comedy involving exaggerated violence and activities which may exceed the boundaries of common sense.- Origins :The phrase comes from the batacchio or bataccio — called the 'slap stick' in English — a club-like object composed of two wooden slats used in Commedia dell'arte...
team, The Three Stooges used it in their short films Micro-Phonies
Micro-Phonies
Micro-Phonies is the 87th short subject starring American slapstick comedy team the Three Stooges. The trio made a total of 190 shorts for Columbia Pictures between 1934 and 1959.-Plot:...
and Squareheads of the Round Table
Squareheads of the Round Table
Squareheads of the Round Table is the 106th short subject starring American slapstick comedy team the Three Stooges. The trio made a total of 190 shorts for Columbia Pictures between 1934 and 1959.-Plot:...
, sung in the latter with the lyrics "Oh, Elaine, Elaine, come out ....", and it is featured during a scene from the 1986 comedy film, The Money Pit
The Money Pit
The Money Pit is a 1986 comedy film and remake of Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House. Directed by Richard Benjamin and executive produced by Steven Spielberg, the film stars Tom Hanks and Shelley Long as a couple who attempt to renovate a recently purchased house. The Money Pit was filmed in New...
. Its use in Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
cartoons includes Long-Haired Hare
Long-Haired Hare
Long-Haired Hare is a 1948 Warner Brothers Looney Tunes theatrical cartoon short released in 1949, directed by Chuck Jones and written by Michael Maltese. In addition to including the homophones "hair" and "hare", the title is also a pun on "longhairs", a characterization of classical music lovers...
, sung by the opera singer (Bugs Bunny's antagonist); Book Revue
Book Revue
Book Revue is a 1945 Looney Tunes cartoon short featuring Daffy Duck, released in 1946, with a plotline essentially similar to 1938's Have You Got Any Castles?. It is directed by Bob Clampett, written by Warren Foster and scored by Carl Stalling. An uncredited Mel Blanc and Sara Berner provided...
, sung by the wolf antagonist; and in Back Alley Oproar
Back Alley Oproar
Back Alley Oproar is a Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies animated short originally released in theaters on March 27, 1948. The short features Sylvester and Elmer Fudd as its main characters, voiced by Mel Blanc and Arthur Q. Bryan respectively...
, sung by a choir full of Sylvester
Sylvester (Looney Tunes)
Sylvester J. Pussycat, Sr., Sylvester the Cat or simply Sylvester, is a fictional character, a three-time Academy Award-winning anthropomorphic Tuxedo cat in the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies repertory, often chasing Tweety Bird, Speedy Gonzales, or Hippety Hopper...
s, the cat. In the 1946 Disney short, The Whale Who Wanted To Sing At The Met, the sextet appears in a unique interpretation with all parts performed by Nelson Eddy
Nelson Eddy
Nelson Ackerman Eddy was an American singer and actor who appeared in 19 musical films during the 1930s and 1940s, as well as in opera and on the concert stage, radio, television, and in nightclubs. A classically trained baritone, he is best remembered for the eight films in which he costarred...
.
The "mad scene" aria "Il dolce suono
Il dolce suono
"Il dolce suono" is the incipit of the recitativo of a "scena ed aria" taken from Act III scene 2, Lucia di Lammermoor by Gaetano Donizetti...
" was featured in the Luc Besson
Luc Besson
Luc Besson is a French film director, writer, and producer. He is the creator of EuropaCorp film company. He has been involved with over 50 films, spanning 26 years, as writer, director, and/or producer.-Early life:...
film The Fifth Element
The Fifth Element
The Fifth Element is a 1997 French science fiction film directed, co-written, and based on a story by Luc Besson, starring Bruce Willis, Gary Oldman, and Milla Jovovich...
in a performance by the alien diva Plavalaguna (voiced by Albanian soprano Inva Mula
Inva Mula
Inva Mula is an Albanian opera soprano and actress. She began her soprano career at a very early age. Her father and mother were also opera singers. -Life and Career:...
and played onscreen by French actress Maïwenn Le Besco
Maïwenn Le Besco
Maïwenn |Île-de-France]]) is a French actress and film director.-Biography and career:She is the daughter of actress Catherine Belkhodja, who ushered her into the entertainment industry at a young age, an experience later chronicled by Le Besco in her one-woman shows "Le Pois Chiche" and "I'm an...
). Mula's performance is also used in an episode of Law & Order: Criminal Intent
Law & Order: Criminal Intent
Law & Order: Criminal Intent is an American police procedural television drama series set in New York City, where it was also primarily produced. Created and produced by Dick Wolf and René Balcer, the series premiered on September 30, 2001, as the second spin-off of Wolf's successful crime drama...
involving the murder of a young violinist by her opera singer mother (who performs the song right after the murder). Mula's performance is also used as a backdrop to "The Eye of Zion's Pocket" incorrectly credited to the Chemical Brothers for the Matrix Reloaded soundtrack (the original artist is unknown). The aria was covered by Russian pop singer Vitas
Vitas
Vitaliy "Vitalik" Vladasovich Grachyov , better known by his stage name Vitas , is a Russian singer-songwriter.Known for his high falsetto voice, he has been given the nickname "Prince of the Dolphin Voice" in China...
over a heavily reworked orchestral techno score and released as a music video in 2006. In addition to the "mad scene", "Verranno a te sull'aure", and "Che facesti?" feature prominently in the 1983 Paul Cox
Paul Cox
Paulus Henriqus Benedictus "Paul" Cox is an award-winning Australian film director.Cox was born in Venlo, Limburg, the Netherlands, the son of Else , a native of Germany, and Wim Cox, a documentary film producer. Cox emigrated to Australia in 1965...
film Man of Flowers
Man of Flowers
Man of Flowers is a 1983 Australian film about an eccentric, reclusive, middle-aged man, Charles Bremer, who enjoys the beauty of art, flowers, and watching pretty women undress. Werner Herzog has a cameo role as Bremer's father...
, especially "Verranno a te sull'aure", which accompanies a striptease in the film's opening scene. "Regnava nel silenzio" accompanies the scene in Beetlejuice
Beetlejuice
Beetlejuice is a 1988 American comedy horror film directed by Tim Burton, produced by The Geffen Film Company and distributed by Warner Bros...
in which Lydia (Winona Ryder
Winona Ryder
Winona Ryder is an American actress. She made her film debut in the 1986 film Lucas. Ryder's first significant role came in Tim Burton's Beetlejuice as a goth teenager, which won her critical and commercial recognition...
) composes a suicide note.
The opera is mentioned in the novels The Count of Monte Cristo
The Count of Monte Cristo
The Count of Monte Cristo is an adventure novel by Alexandre Dumas. It is often considered to be, along with The Three Musketeers, Dumas's most popular work. He completed the work in 1844...
, Madame Bovary
Madame Bovary
Madame Bovary is Gustave Flaubert's first published novel and is considered his masterpiece. The story focuses on a doctor's wife, Emma Bovary, who has adulterous affairs and lives beyond her means in order to escape the banalities and emptiness of provincial life...
, The Hotel New Hampshire
The Hotel New Hampshire
The Hotel New Hampshire is a 1981 coming of age novel by John Irving and his fifth published novel.-Plot summary:This novel is the story of the Berrys, a quirky New Hampshire family composed of a married couple, Win and Mary, and their five children...
, and Where Angels Fear to Tread
Where Angels Fear to Tread
Where Angels Fear to Tread is a novel by E. M. Forster, originally entitled Monteriano. The title comes from a line in Alexander Pope's An Essay on Criticism: "For fools rush in where angels fear to tread"....
and was reputedly one of Tolstoy's favorites. In the children's book The Cricket in Times Square, Chester Cricket chirps the tenor part to the "Lucia Sextet" as the encore to his farewell concert, literally stopping traffic in the process.
External links
- Libretto of the French version
- Further Lucia di Lammermoor discography
- Lucia di Lammermoor synopsis (Metropolitan OperaMetropolitan OperaThe Metropolitan Opera is an opera company, located in New York City. Originally founded in 1880, the company gave its first performance on October 22, 1883. The company is operated by the non-profit Metropolitan Opera Association, with Peter Gelb as general manager...
) - Online vocal score