Gaetano DonizettiLUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR
Metropolitan Opera House, 26. January 2009
Cast
Conductor: Marco Armiliato
Lucia: Anna Netrebko
Edgardo: Rolando Villazón
Enrico: Mariusz Kwiecien
Raimondo: Ildar Abdrazakov
Normanno: Michael Myers
Alisa: Michaela Martens
Arturo: Colin Lee*
Flute Solo: Stefán Ragnar Höskuldsson
Harp Solo: Mariko Anraku
Armonica Solo: Cecilia Brauer
The Production Team
Production: Mary Zimmerman
Set Designer: Daniel Ostling
Costume Designer: Mara Blumenfeld
Lighting Designer: T. J. Gerckens
Choreographer: Daniel Pelzig
The Characters
Lucia: Lucia of Lammermoor is the sister of Enrico. She is in love with her brother's rival, Edgardo, but is forced to marry Arturo against her will.
Enrico: Enrico of Lammermoor is Lucia's brother. He has defeated Edgardo, winning control over the Ravenswood estates. To restore his waning power, he forces Lucia to marry against her will.
Edgardo: Edgardo of Ravenswood has recently lost control of his family's estates to the Lammermoors. He is in love with Lucia and will do anything to marry her.
Arturo: Arturo is a member of the Bucklaw family, and has agreed to marry Lucia in order to unite with the Lammermoor family.
Raimondo: Lucia's tutor.
Normanno: Follower of Enrico.
TV News videoclips
Audio clips with images
Anna Netrebko and Rolando Villazón in the wedding scene.
Anna Netrebko singing the mad scene
Reviews
Anthony Tommasini wrote for The New York Times:
"The impressive qualities of her singing were amply on display as the fragile Lucia, who has fallen in love with the enemy of her clannish family in Scotland, Edgardo, but is forced to marry a wealthy nobleman to rescue the family from financial ruin. Ms. Netrebko remains a glamorous and charismatic singer with an opulent and poignantly lovely voice."
"Bel Canto Magic in a Scottish Castle Haunted by Pesky High Notes" by Anthony Tommasini - The New York Times, 27. Jan 2009"During her first scene, in the haunting aria “Regnava nel silenzio,” she shaped the arching phrases with rich sound and lyrical suppleness. She has always valued expressive nuances and impetuosity over rhythmic precision and flawless execution."
"Yet during the first part of the mad scene, after Lucia stabs her husband to death on their wedding night, Ms. Netrebko was spellbinding. In the hushed pianissimo passage when the delusional young woman believes she and her beloved Edgardo are at last united, she created vocal magic, imbuing lines with spectral colorings that matched the eerie sounds of the glass harmonica, played by Cecilia Brauer. Her earthy, subdued expressivity had me thinking of Callas."
"Star Tenor Villazon Conks Out, Rallies, Triumphs in Met Show" by Zinta Lundborg - Bloomberg 27. Jan 2009
Richard on rec.music.opera
Related posts
Anna Netrebko makes her Lucia debut at the Met on 26. Jan 2009
21C Media Group press release
Acknowledgements
Elisa, Rhodri, ZvezdanewsTV for uploading the TV news videoclip to Youtube, Hotazzoperastud for uploading the audioclips to Youtube
Gracias por el video, Carlos, no lo habíamos visto y lo añadimos en el blog de Rolando.
ReplyDeleteMe ha avisado del video Elisa, mientras estaba en la vorágine de las primeras fotos y arreglando el post. Además del "único" artículo oficial hasta el momento, hay una crónica muy completa en re.music.opera. Cuenta con más detalle qué es lo que paso y, en particular, deja a Anna mejor. No me ha dado tiempo de mirar vuestro blog. Lo digo por si ha salido algo más o ya habéis incluido algún comentario. Ahora lo miraré.
ReplyDeletehttp://groups.google.com/group/rec.music.opera/browse_thread/thread/3855b5f0fb2d3757
ReplyDeletehi Carlos and Hi Teresa (I sand you an e.mail this morning on your "ingemisco" on youtube) ... I wait others informations on the performance... for now it's all.!!! BESOS!
ReplyDeleteThanks Elisa! ;)
ReplyDeleteMe alegro muchísimo del retorno de Anna a los escenarios. Ahora sólo esperemos que alunos de los que pise sean los de casa.
ReplyDeleteBe the first to hear some more from MET's Lucia http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZJUz0FbpnE
ReplyDeleteHow can anybody say they disappoint?!!!!!!!!
Thank you so much! And thanks twice if you have been the uploader of those audio-clips!. I think that, in particular, this one helps to get a better idea of what happened at this key point of the performance, when Rolando stops singinging for a few seconds...
ReplyDeleteHave you heard the audio uploaded in NYTimes? They sound great, as always! My only dissapointment is that I wasn't there!
ReplyDeleteMmm.. Are you sure they are Anna and Rolando??? I can't recognize Anna's voice on this clip... I think they are Diana Damrau and Pitr Beczala, probably from an Oct 2008 performance.
ReplyDeleteProbably, you are right! Definately these voices are not Rolando's and Anna's.
ReplyDeleteOperaChic wrote a long analysis of the performance and pointed out the at any discriminationg house Villazon would have been "booed" off the stage. She added that to get an ovation at the Met the only requirement of a singer is that he or she show up.
ReplyDelete