Sung in Italian with English supertitles.
Approximately 3 hours with 2 intermissions.
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Gaetano Donizetti
Based on an epic 19th century Scottish romance by Sir Walter Scott and containing several of the most thrilling moments in all of opera, Lucia di Lammermoor propels us into a world where women are reluctant pawns in a dynastic quest for powerful family alliances. Tricked by her brother into giving up the man she loves, Lucia submits to his choice of a husband, with tragic consequences for all.
Featuring the eagerly anticipated American debut of Italian baritone Luca Grassi and a host of major international stars — including Romanian soprano Elena Mosuc in the title role — making their first appearance on the Dallas Opera stage. Donizetti’s 1835 masterpiece thunders, swoons, transfixes and haunts. But be forewarned: it never, ever lets up! What choice would you make when the only chance for freedom lies in... madness?
The Joy and Ronald Mankoff Pre-Opera Talks for Lucia di Lammermoor will be given by Stephen Dubberly one hour before each performance (except October 21) in Hamon Hall at the Winspear Opera House. Learn more.
Synopsis
Act 1
Scene 1: The gardens of Lammermoor Castle
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.
Act 2
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.
Act 3
Scene 1: The Wolf's Crag
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. 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.
Cast Biographies
Although we are always happy to support the careers of local artists, the Dallas Opera attracts international casts from as far away as Russia and China in order to bring North Texas audiences the very best the world has to offer. This is the place where opera legend Plácido Domingo made his U.S. debut. Opera’s greatest stars are always shining at the Dallas Opera!
Starring
Lucia di Lammermoor
Elena Mosuc
Soprano — Iaşi, Romania — Dallas Opera debut
Elena Mosuc is making her Dallas Opera debut in the title role of Lucia di Lammermoor. She won first prize at the Munich International Music Competition and has been named an Officer of the Arts — the highest honor awarded a musician in Romania. She regularly appears with companies throughout Europe including Zurich, Berlin, Vienna, Paris, Milan, and London. Her roles with the Zurich opera include the Queen of the Night (Die Zauberflöte), Donna Anna (Don Giovanni), Gilda (Rigoletto), and the title roles in Lucia di Lammermoor, La traviata, Maria Stuarda, and Luisa Miller. She made her Metropolitan Opera debut last season as Olympia in Les Contes d’Hoffmann. Other roles include Micaëla (Carmen) at the Verona Arena, Zerbinetta (Ariadne auf Naxos) in Genoa and all four heroines in Les Contes d’Hoffmann at the State Opera of Hamburg. DVD performances include Musetta in La bohème, Gilda in Rigoletto, Queen of the Night in Die Zauberflöte and Zerbinetta in Ariadne auf Naxos. Her audio recordings include Mahler’s Second Symphony with The London Symphony, Lehar’s Schön ist die Welt with the Munich Radio Orchestra and several solo recordings. Upcoming engagements include the title roles in Luisa Miller (La Scala) and Lucrezia Borgia (Brussels) and Zerbinetta in Ariadne auf Naxos (Salzburg Festival).
Sir Edgardo di Ravenwood
Bryan Hymel
Tenor — New Orleans, Louisiana — Dallas Opera debut
Debut artist Bryan Hymel was the top prize winner in the 2009 Gerda Lissner Foundation Competition and first prize winner in the 2008 Licia Albanese/Puccini Foundation Competition. Mr. Hymel recently made his debut at Teatro alla Scala in Milan as Don José in Carmen. He reprised that role for a filmed version of Carmen in 3D with the Royal Opera, Covent Garden that was broadcast around the world. Other European appearances include Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly for the English National Opera, Cavaradossi in Tosca for the Opéra National de Bordeaux, Arturo in I Puritani with the Greek National Opera, and Énée in Les Troyens with The Netherlands Opera. He has also sung Pinkerton with the Canadian Opera Company and Palm Beach Opera. Elsewhere in the United States, he has appeared in the title role of Faust with Santa Fe Opera and Opera Birmingham, as the Duke in Rigoletto and Tamino in Die Zauberflöte for Opera Grand Rapids, Rinuccio in Gianni Schicchi with New Orleans Opera, and the Prince in Rusalka with Boston Lyric Opera. Upcoming engagements include Rusalka (Royal Opera, Covent Garden), Rodolfo in La bohéme (Glyndebourne Tour) and the title role of Faust (Baltimore).
Lord Enrico Ashton
Luca Grassi
Baritone — San Marino Republic — American debut
The Dallas Opera is pleased to present Luca Grassi in his American operatic debut. Mr. Grassi won the City of Rome competition and made his debut there as Germont in La traviata. He appeared at the reopening of the Gran teatro La Fenice in Venice as Germont in La traviata. Other roles include the title roles in Don Giovanni for Opera Giocosa di Savona and Le nozze di Figaro for Opera Hong Kong; Marcello in La bohéme (Glyndebourne Touring Opera, Modena, Piacenza, Cagliari and the Grand Théâtre de Genève); Silvio in Pagliacci and Sharpless in Madama Butterfly for Teatro Comunale in Bologna; and Amonasro in Aïda for Teatro Regio in Turin and in Pisa and Trento. He has also sung Sharpless for the Scottish Opera in Glasgow, Deutsche Opera Berlin and the Teatro dell-Opera in Rome. He has been a regular guest at the Festival della Valle d’Itria where he has sung the title roles in Massenet’s Werther (Baritone version) and Piccini’s Roland as well as Saint-Bris in Les Huguenots. Upcoming engagements include Renato in Un ballo in maschera; Ezio in Attila in St. Gallen, La traviata in Leipzig, Florence and Montreal; and Carmen in Las Palmas.
Raimondo Bidebent
Jordan Bisch
Bass — Vancouver, Washington — Dallas Opera debut
Jordan Bisch makes his Dallas Opera debut with these performances. He was the winner of the Richard Tucker Career Grant in both 2006 and 2009 and a Grand Finals Winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. He is a graduate of the Metropolitan Opera’s Lindemann Young Artist Program and has appeared with the company in productions of Roméo et Juliette, Parsifal, and Idomeneo and recently on their tour to Japan. He created the roles of Daedalus/Father in Seattle Opera’s world premiere of Daron Hagen’s Amelia. He made his European debut in Switzerland as Paolo in Simon Boccanegra. His San Francisco opera debut was as Angelotti in Tosca, and he has sung the Second Armored Man in Die Zauberflöte for Los Angeles Opera and the Théâtre du Capitol in Toulouse. For Florida Grand Opera, he has sung Raimondo in Lucia di Lammermoor. Upcoming engagements include the King in Aïda for the Metropolitan Opera.
Normanno
Scott Quinn
Tenor — Marshall, Texas
Scott Quinn was one of the winners in the 2008 Dallas Opera Guild Vocal Competition and was our Young Artist in Residence for the ’08-’09 and ’09-’10 Seasons. Scott has most recently been part of San Francisco Opera’s Merola Opera Program and will join the Houston Grand Opera Studio after these performances of Lucia. Mr. Quinn was nominated for a Richard Tucker Career Grant and was a winner in the Palm Beach Opera Competition. His Dallas Opera roles include Rodrigo in Otello, Lord Cecil in Roberto Devereux and Parpignol in La bohème and Tybalt in our Student Matinée performances of Roméo et Juliette. Scott was also the cover for the role of Greenhorn in the world premiere of Moby-Dick. As an HGO Studio Artist, Scott will sing the role of Gastone in La traviata and cover the roles of Alfredo in La traviata and Leicester in Maria Stuarda.
Lord Arturo Bucklaw
Aaron Blake
Tenor — Palos Verdes, California
Returning for a second season as The Dallas Opera’s Young Artist in Residence, Aaron Blake made his company debut as Hervey in Anna Bolena. Other Dallas Opera roles include Tybalt in Roméo et Juliette, and Roméo in the school performance matinées of that opera. Mr. Blake recently sang the role of Idamante in Mozart’s Idomeneo with Opera San Jose. For the Utah Symphony and Opera, he has sung Fenton in Verdi’s Falstaff, El Remendado in Carmen and Rinuccio in Gianni Schicchi and was the Tenor soloist for Handel’s Messiah. Santa Fe Opera audiences have seen him as Evandre in Gluck’s Alceste. His repertoire includes Tamino in Die Zauberflöte, Belfiore in La finta giardiniera, Sam Kaplan in Street Scene, Nemorino in L’elisir d’amore and Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni. He was the recipient of a Bagby Career Grant from the Bagby Foundation for the Musical Arts. Mr. Blake created the role of Brian in Nico Muhly’s opera Two Boys, in a workshop performance for the Metropolitan Opera. In addition to his work with The Dallas Opera this season, Mr. Blake will make his Carnegie Hall debut with the Oratorio Society of New York and will sing the role of Hervey in Anna Bolena with the Washington National Opera.
Alisa
Cynthia Hanna
Mezzo-Soprano — Charleston, South Carolina — Dallas Opera debut
Cynthia Hanna makes her debut with The Dallas Opera as Alisa in Lucia di Lammermoor. She made her international debut as Suzuki in Madama Butterfly at the Savonlinna Festival and recently sang Maddalena in Rigoletto alongside Placido Domingo in the title role at Beijing’s Reignwood Theater. Other recent performances include the Page in Salome (Washington National Opera), Meg Page in Falstaff (Utah Opera), and both Third Lady in Die Zauberflöte and Suzuki in Madama Butterfly (Opera North). While a Domingo Cafritz Young Artist at Washington National Opera, she sang Mercedes in Carmen and Dryade in Ariadne auf Naxos. On the concert stage, she has joined the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra for Handel’s Messiah; Utah Symphony Orchestra for Debussy’s La demoiselle elue, Mozart’s Requiem, and Bernstein’s Mass; and the National Symphony Orchestra Chamber Players for Brahms’ Zwei Gesänge. Upcoming engagements include Idamante in Idomeneo with Florentine Opera and Emilia in Otello with Sarasota Opera.
Production Team
Conductor
Graeme Jenkins
London, England
The Dallas Opera’s Music Director, Graeme Jenkins, has conducted 171 productions of 111 different operas including Billy Budd, Jenufa, Cavallaria rusticana, Pagliacci and Der Fliegende Holländer (Vienna State Opera); Così fan tutte (English National Opera); Baz Luhrman’s La bohéme and Die Meistersinger (Austrilia); The Cunning Little Vixen and From the House of the Dead (Berlin); Le nozze di Figaro for Theater an der Wien in Vienna; Simon Boccanegra, Der Fliegende Holländer and Il re pastore (Amsterdam); La clemenza di Tito (Copenhagen) and numerous productions with The Dallas Opera including the Ring cycle, Macbeth, Don Giovanni, Così fan tutte, The Magic Flute, and company premières of Billy Budd, Nabucco, Wozzeck, Katya Kabanova, Mary Queen of Scots and Rodelinda. He has also conducted world premières of works by Tobias Picker (Thérèse Raquin at The Dallas Opera) and Stephen Oliver’s Timon of Athens (English National Opera). Concert engagements have included the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Danish Opera Orchestra, the Utah Symphony Orchestra, the Galicia Symphony Orchestra of Spain and the Monte Carlo Philharmonic. In addition to conducting our Spring 2012 productions of Tristan und Isolde and The Magic Flute, he will conduct Der Fliegende Holländer and Peter Grimes (with Ben Heppner) in Vienna.
Stage Director
Garnett Bruce
Washington, DC
Garnett Bruce returns to The Dallas Opera for this production of Lucia di Lammermoor, after staging Madama Butterfly in the inaugural season of The Winspear Opera House. Mr. Bruce stages Turandot for the opening of the San Francisco Opera’s 2011/2012 season as well as for the inaugural production for the Lyric Opera of Kansas City’s Kaufmann Performing Arts Center. After this production of Lucia, he directs The Rake’s Progress for Peabody Opera Theater, Don Pasquale for Opera Memphis, and his production of La Cenerentola for Madison Opera. Last season he directed La traviata for Austin Lyric Opera and Madison Opera, and continued his Da Ponte Cycle with Don Giovanni for Opera Omaha and continued his work as teacher and director at the Peabody Conservatory of Johns Hopkins University with a double bill of Poulenc’s Les mamelles de Tiresias and Ravel’s L’enfant et les sortileges.
Mr. Bruce’s body of work includes engagements with companies across the country such as Lyric Opera of Chicago, Houston Grand Opera, San Diego Opera, Washington National Opera, Wolf Trap Opera, Pittsburgh Opera, Cincinnati Opera and Utah Symphony & Opera and his European opera debut staging Turandot for the Teatro di San Carlo in Naples. He was the Artistic Adviser and Principal Stage Director for Opera Omaha from 2008-2011. In addition to his work at Peabody, Garnett Bruce serves on the faculty of the Aspen Music Festival & School’s Opera Theater Center and on the Board of Directors for FBN Productions (Opera for Kids).
Scenic Designer
Henry Bardon
Henry Bardon made his American Opera debut with The Dallas Opera in 1972. Mr. Bardon, who died in 1991, was renowned for his many production throughout Europe, including William Tell for the Royal Opera Stockholm, The Fairy Queen and Iphegenie en Tauride at Lisbon, Werther in Vienna, Lucia di Lammermoor in Amsterdam, and Le nozze di Figaro in Sydney. In addition to his many operas, Mr. Bardon also designed the full-length ballets Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty for London’s Royal Ballet at Covent Garden.
Costume Designer
Peter J. Hall
Deceased
Highlights: Designed for Luciano Pavarotti, Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, Plácido Domingo, Dame Joan Sutherland, Dame Judi Dench, David Bowie, Dame Maggie Smith and Elizabeth Taylor. He designed for The Royal Opera House, London; Vienna State Opera; La Scala, Milan; Kirov Opera; St. Petersburg Opera; the Sydney Opera; the Metropolitan Opera and Los Angeles Opera. Highlights include Simon Boccanegra (San Francisco); Otello in South Korea and Stiffelio for Teatro Nuovo in Argentina. He has also designed for theater productions at The National Theatre, London and The Royal Shakespeare Company. More than seventy productions designed for The Dallas Opera since Il barbiere di Siviglia in 1962, including costumes for the 2006 production of Ariadne auf Naxos.
Lighting Designer
Marie Barrett
Seattle, Washington
Highlights: Ariadne auf Naxos, The Barber of Seville, Salome, Macbeth, Turandot (southwest premiere of new ending by Luciano Berio), The Flying Dutchman, The Magic Flute, El amor brujo and La vida breve (The Dallas Opera); Un ballo in maschera and Die Fledermaus (San Francisco Opera); Salome and La traviata (Fort Worth Opera); The Magic Flute, Katya Kabanova and Vanessa (San Diego Opera); Roméo et Julliette (Houston Grand Opera). Overseas, Ms. Barrett has designed for the Netherlands Opera, Opera Bastille in Paris, and at the Maggio musicale in Florence. She has worked with noteworthy directors including Jonathan Miller (Tosca, The Rise and Fall of Mahoganny, The Mikado), Andre Serban (The Fiery Angel), and Michael Hampe (Die Zauberflöte, Un ballo in maschera, Der Rosenkavalier). Ms. Barrett is also a production manager and has overseen the North American companies of “Riverdance” for ten years.
Wig and Make-up Designer
David Zimmerman
Dallas, Texas
David Zimmerman has worked with several opera companies around the world. These include The Metropolitan Opera, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Santa Fe Opera, Paris National Opera, and Opera Santa Barbara. Mr. Zimmerman’s career extends to Broadway, as well, where he has worked with shows including Wicked, Rocky Horror, Show Boat, South Pacific and Evita. Personal clients include Deborah Voigt, Patricia Racette, Martha Stewart, Olympia Dukakis and Ricky Martin. Mr. Zimmmerman has also done the makeup for DIFFA Fashion Runway, Dallas Fashion and Art Charity, and the Yelp.com fashion event, as well as the “Diva Issue” of OperaNews, the magazine cover and story featuring Deborah Voigt. TV and film credits include Glamour Magazine’s Women of the Year and a feature film starring Anna Paquin. This year marks his 6th consecutive season at the Dallas Opera.
Fight Coordinator
Bill Lengfelder
St. Louis, Missouri
Bill Lengfelder is a Full Professor at Southern Methodist University in the Theater Division. He is a Certified Teacher of the Society of American Fight Directors, a member of Kitchen Dog Theater Company (Dallas, Texas) as well as The Fabulous Beast Dance Theater (Dublin, Ireland). As a member of The Fabulous Beast, he recently performed in Rite of Spring at the English National Opera in London, as well as in Giselle of Balleyfeeney Street in Sydney, Australia last January and at the Toronto International Theater Festival last May. Mr. Lengfelder has staged numerous fights for The Dallas Opera (including Otello and Moby Dick), but made his stage debut with the company three seasons ago as the Coroner (a speaking role) in Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess.
Chorus Master
Alexander Rom
Kharkov, Ukraine
Career Highlights: Moby-Dick, Madame Butterfly, Otello, Don Pasquale (2009); The Merry Widow, Porgy and Bess and Tosca (2008); Lohengrin, Macbeth, La rondine and Mary Queen of Scots (2007); Nabucco, The Barber of Seville and The Magic Flute (2006); The Tales of Hoffmann (2005), Cav/Pag (2005); Madame Butterfly (1995, 2000, 2005), Jenufa (1993, 2004), Der fliegende Holländer (1993) and other productions – too numerous to name – for The Dallas Opera. A composer (and confirmed book lover) as well as an internationally renowned chorus master, Alexander’s works have been performed at Carnegie Hall. His arrangements of songs by Edvard Grieg have been performed at New York’s famed South Street Seaport and, in England, by members of the BBC Chorus under the direction of Bo Holten.
Assistant Director
Brian Clay Luedloff
Wentzville, Missouri
Returning artist Brian Luedloff is the Artistic Director for Opera Fort Collins and Director of Opera Theater for the University of Northern Colorado. Mr. Luedloff’s productions include Lucia di Lammermoor, L’elisir d’amore, Cavalleria rusticana and Gianni Schicci for Connecticut Opera; La bohéme and The Thunder of Horses for Opera Theatre of St. Louis. He has served on the staging staff of Lyric Opera of Chicago, San Francisco Opera, Washington National Opera, The Dallas Opera and Houston Grand Opera. Upcoming engagements include Il barbiere di Siviglia and Amahl and the Night Visitors for Opera Fort Collins and The Tender Land for Bethel College.
Facts
Conversation Starter
Two names closely associated with the Dallas Opera, sopranos Maria Callas and Dame Joan Sutherland, are also credited with playing key roles in the bel canto revival that made modern audiences go wild for works like Lucia. Miss Callas was our very first Lucia in 1959, followed by Dame Joan in 1961.
Did You Know?
This opera is based on Sir Walter Scott’s “The Bride of Lammermoor” and is one of at least 80 operas that have been inspired by the popular and prolific author’s Romantic novels and poetry.
Artistic Director Jonathan Pell’s Recommended Listening
Remarkably, there are at least a dozen good recordings of Donizetti’s most popular opera, but at the very top of the list has to be the versions made by Maria Callas and Joan Sutherland. Both sopranos sang Lucia with the Dallas Opera, and their interpretations have been captured several times for posterity. The recommended recordings, however, are the Callas CD conducted by Herbert von Karajan, with Giuseppe Di Stefano and Rolando Panerai (EMI Classic #66441, available on Amazon here) and the Sutherland recording with Luciano Pavarotti and Sherrill Milnes, which is conducted by Richard Bonynge (Decca #001305602, available on Amazon here). There is a third recorded version conducted by Thomas Schippers which stars Beverly Sills, Carlo Bergonzi and Piero Cappuccilli (DGG #471250, available on Amazon here), in which the eerie and mysterious instrument known as the glass harmonica accompanies the soprano in her mad scene instead of the more common flute obbligato.
Recommended Reading
- Divas and Scholars: Performing Italian Opera by Philip Gossett
- Donizetti and the World of Opera in Italy, Paris and Vienna in the First Half of the Nineteenth Century by Herbert Weinstock
Performances
The season’s performances of Lucia di Lammermoor have concluded. Please see our upcoming season performances!
| Friday, October 21, 2011 7:30pm |
| Sunday, October 23, 2011 2:00pm |
| Wednesday, October 26, 2011 7:30pm |
| Saturday, October 29, 2011 7:30pm |
| Sunday, November 6, 2011 2:00pm |
Venue
Performances of Lucia di Lammermoor take place in the Margaret McDermott Performance Hall in the Margot & Bill Winspear Opera House.
