Lucia di Lammermoor

THE ACADEMY OF VOCAL ARTS, Philadelphia (2017)

Lucia di Lammermoor by Gaetano Donizetti
Conductor: Christopher Macatsoris
Cast: Dominguez/Nowakowski, Gotcher/Buszewski/White, Bybee/Espino, Noyola/Milholin, Ludwig, Hage, Bréton
Production: P. Harrison (scenery), V. Starr (clothes), A. Doak (lighting), N. Kidd (hair/make-up)

“Nic Muni’s staging revives the importance of these feuding clans’ machinations. He uses dark sets with walls covered by ancestral portraits. He also changes the usual portrayal of Lucia’s older brother Enrico as the villain who forces her into a loveless marriage. Muni’s direction reminds us of the family disaster that looms and makes us realize why Enrico pressures his sister. He is a conflicted character. Arturo becomes the real villain, taking advantage of the Ravenswood family and disrespecting Lucia; small wonder she stabs him to death on their wedding night.

In all previous productions, Lucia does not appear after the mad scene. Edgardo has the last scene to himself and, in the middle, learns she’s dead. Here, that final scene occurs on a divided stage. On the right stands Edgardo; on the left, Lucia’s castle, where she lies dying. We watch her expire while Enrico grieves over her body, and Edgardo bursts into the room as the curtain falls.”
–Steven Cohen, Broad Street Review