Show artwork for Lucia di Lammermoor

Lucia di Lammermoor Lucia di Lammermoor

Composed by Gaetano Donizetti

Conducted by Lina González-Granados

September 17 – October 9, 2022

Production new to Los Angeles

At the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion

A spellbinding tale of marriage, madness and murder.

Lucia is trapped in an impossible situation. Her abusive brother hates the man she loves. Worse, he's forcing her to marry someone else in a last-ditch effort to shore up the family's failing finances. Her only way out seems to be murder...

Donizetti's gorgeously moody score masterfully conveys Lucia's isolation and instability as she slips into a terrifying world of madness. Two extraordinary sopranos—who launched their careers at LA Opera—will take on the iconic title role: Amanda Woodbury, who's now a star at the Metropolitan Opera, and Liv Redpath, who'll sing Lucia at the Deutsche Oper Berlin this year. Tenor Arturo Chacón-Cruz returns as Lucia's beloved Edgardo, with Alexander Birch Elliott as Enrico and bass Eric Owens as Raimondo.

Lina González-Granados leads the proceedings in her first outing as the company's new Resident Conductor. Director Simon Stone creates a powerful new production that moves the story to a present-day world of desperation and decline.

Sung in Italian with English subtitles. 

Please note: This production contains adult subject matter and depictions of violence and drug use.

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"A striking production... the most consistently excellent cast, the excellence being in both the singing and the acting.”

Los Angeles Times

See what audiences are saying about Lucia di Lammermoor

Cast

Lucia (Sep 17-24)
Amanda Woodbury
Lucia (Sep 28-Oct 9)
Liv Redpath
Edgardo
Arturo Chacón-Cruz
Enrico
Alexander Birch Elliott
Raimondo
Eric Owens
Normanno
Anthony León
Alisa
Madeleine Lyon
Arturo
Anthony Ciaramitaro

Creative Team

Conductor
Lina González-Granados
Director
Simon Stone
Scenery
Lizzie Clachan
Costumes
Blanca Añón
Lighting
James Farncombe
Projections
Luke Halls
Chorus Director
Jeremy Frank
Choreographer
Kitty McNamee
Fight Director
Andrew Kenneth Moss

Read the synopsis

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Synopsis

This new production treats Lucia di Lammermoor as a contemporary story, placing the action in a declining present-day town in America’s Rust Belt and addressing societal issues familiar to modern audiences. The staging makes extensive use of video to provide close-up views and more than one perspective. 

Act I
Normanno and a group of guards search for a prowler spotted near the home of Enrico Ashton. Enrico plans to escape financial ruin by arranging a wealthy husband for his sister Lucia, but she has refused to agree to the plan. The chaplain Raimondo assures him that the girl’s refusal to wed stems from her grief after the recent death of her mother, but Normanno reveals the truth: Lucia has fallen in love with Edgardo, Enrico’s sworn enemy. The guards return to report that Edgardo was seen trespassing on the premises. 

Lucia tells her friend Alisa that she has been meeting Edgardo in secret. Their meeting place fills Lucia with dread, for she has seen the ghost of a murdered woman there. Alisa urges her to give up this ill-omened affair, but Lucia swears that Edgardo is her only source of happiness. When Edgardo arrives, he tells her that he must travel abroad; before he embarks, he hopes to make peace with her brother and ask him for her hand in marriage. Knowing the depths of her brother’s hatred, Lucia begs him not to do so. They exchange rings, vowing eternal love for one another. 

Act II 
During Edgardo’s absence, Enrico has intercepted all of his enemy’s letters to Lucia. He has also invited his friends and family to Lucia’s wedding to the wealthy Arturo, whose arrival is imminent. Enrico shows Lucia a forged message that seems to prove that Edgardo is in love with another woman. Enrico tells Lucia that she must marry Arturo that very day. 

Raimondo, invoking the memory of her mother, urges Lucia to go through with the ceremony for the good of the family. She is too stunned to object and he reminds her that there are heavenly rewards for earthly sacrifices. 

The wedding guests hail the union of two important families. Arturo pledges to restore the Ashtons’ prestige. Enrico prepares him for Lucia’s melancholy by explaining that she is still in mourning for her mother. As soon as Lucia signs the marriage contract, Edgardo enters, to the astonishment of all the wedding guests. Enraged that Lucia has apparently broken her vows to him, he prepares to fight; Raimondo is able to restrain him. Edgardo furiously demands his ring back from Lucia, cursing her. 

Act III 
Enrico follows Edgardo to his home, challenging him to a duel for insulting his sister and his family’s honor. Edgardo accepts, eager to avenge his father’s murder at the hands of Enrico. They agree to fight at dawn. 

Meanwhile, the wedding celebrations at the castle have continued. Raimondo bursts in with the shocking news that Lucia has killed her new husband. She enters, bloodied by the deed and irreparably altered. When Enrico storms in, he is silenced by the sight of her pitiful condition. After a confused and violent exchange with her brother, Lucia collapses. 

Edgardo laments Lucia’s apparent betrayal. He awaits his duel with Enrico, which he hopes will end his own life. He learns of Lucia’s madness and her request to see him once more on her deathbed. As he is about to rush to her side, Raimondo arrives with news of her death. Unable to bear the thought of life without her, Edgardo kills himself. 

 

Pre-Show Lecture - one hour before the performance
Learn more about the opera and its composer with Dr. Kristi Brown-Montesano, Chair of Music History at the Colburn Conservatory of Music and a LA Opera Connects affiliated scholar. Pre-show talks are complimentary for all ticket holders and held on the second floor of the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. (Note: there is no pre-show talk on September 17.)

Click here to read the digital program.

Sung in Italian with English subtitles

The running time is approximately three hours and 15 minutes, including two intermissions.

This production uses lightning and gunshot effects.

A co-production with the Metropolitan Opera

Click here to read a note on Lucia di Lammermoor by Music Director James Conlon.

Artwork for Lucia di Lammermoor
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