Lucia di Lammermoor Guide

Transcription

Music by Gaetano Donizetti
Libretto by Salvadore Cammarano
Introduction and Resource Guide
for Pacific Opera Victoria’s Production, February, 2015
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Pacific Opera Victoria
925 Balmoral Road
Victoria, BC V8T 1A7
Phone: 250.382.1641
Box Office: 250.385.0222
www.pov.bc.ca
Welcome to Pacific Opera Victoria!
This Guide to Lucia di Lammermoor has been created for anyone who would like to explore the opera in more
detail. The opera experience can be made more meaningful and enjoyable when you have the opportunity to
learn about the opera before attending the performance.
The guide may also be used to help teachers prepare students for their visit to the opera. It is our hope that
teachers will be able to use this material to expand students’ understanding of opera, literature, history, and the
fine arts. These materials may be copied and distributed to students.
Please visit http://www.pov.bc.ca/resources.html to download this guide. POV Guides for other operas are also
available for download.
Please Note: The Dress Rehearsal is the last opportunity the singers will have on stage to work
with the orchestra before Opening Night. Since vocal demands are so great on opera singers,
some singers choose not to sing in full voice during the Dress Rehearsal in order to preserve
their voice for opening night.
Contents
Welcome to Pacific Opera Victoria! ___________________________________________________________ 1
Cast and Creative Team ___________________________________________________________________ 2
Introduction and Synopsis __________________________________________________________________ 3
The Music of Lucia di Lammermoor ___________________________________________________________ 5
Bel Canto Then and Now ___________________________________________________________________ 9
Donizetti’s British Invasion _________________________________________________________________ 10
Resources and Links _____________________________________________________________________ 13
Student Activities ________________________________________________________________________ 15
______________________________________________________________________________________________________
Pacific Opera Victoria Study Guide for Lucia di Lammermoor 2015
1
Lucia di Lammermoor
Music by Gaetano Donizetti
Libretto by Salvadore Cammarano
based on Sir Walter Scott's novel The Bride of Lammermoor
First Performance September 26, 1835
Teatro San Carlo in Naples
Performances February 12, 14, 18, 20, 2015, at 8 pm
Matinée February 22 at 2:30 pm
Royal Theatre, Victoria, BC
In Italian with English surtitles
Cast and Creative Team
Cast in order of Vocal Appearance
Normanno, captain of the guard at Ravenswood............... Josh Lovell
Enrico (Lord Henry Ashton of Lammermoor) ..................... James Westman
Raimondo Bidebent, Lucia’s chaplain and tutor ................. Giles Tomkins
Lucia of Lammermoor, Enrico’s sister ................................. Tracy Dahl
Alisa, Lucia's companion .................................................... Michèle Bogdanowicz
Edgardo of Ravenswood, last of his family ........................ Ernesto Ramírez
Lord Arturo Bucklaw, Lucia's bridegroom .......................... Owen McCausland
Chorus of retainers, servants, wedding guests
Artistic Director and Conductor .......................................... Timothy Vernon
Director ............................................................................... Glynis Leyshon
Set and Costume Designer .................................................. Christina Poddubiuk
Lighting Designer................................................................. Guy Simard
Chorus Master..................................................................... Giuseppe Pietraroia
Répétiteur ........................................................................... Csinszka Rédai
Director in Residence .......................................................... Sarah Jane Pelzer
Designer in Residence ......................................................... Marshall McMahen
Stage Manager .................................................................... Sara Robb
Assistant Stage Managers ................................................... Steve Barker, Christopher Sibbald
With the Victoria Symphony and the Pacific Opera Chorus
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2
Introduction
In the brooding Scottish lowlands, it is men who call the shots. Clan rivalries, political maneuvering,
and ancient vendettas leave no place for a woman who falls in love with the wrong man.
Lucia is caught in the brutal web of her brother's manipulation, her lover's jealous rage, and the
implacable enmity between their two clans. When she is bullied into an arranged marriage, her fragile
spirit is shattered.
In the most celebrated mad scene in all of opera, Donizetti's entrancing melodic lines entwine round
Lucia's unraveling coloratura. This is the archetype of romantic bel canto opera ... tempestuous passions,
murder, madness, and doom, spun out in glorious song.
Synopsis
As the opera begins, the Scottish families of
Ravenswood and Lammermoor are engaged in a longstanding feud. For the moment, Enrico (Lord Henry
Ashton) of Lammermoor has prevailed; he has taken
over the Ravenswood estates and installed himself and
his sister Lucia in Ravenswood Castle. Edgardo, the last
of the Ravenswoods, now lives at Wolf’s Crag, a
gloomy, semi-ruined tower by the sea.
However, Enrico’s financial and political situation is now
so precarious that he sees only one way out – Lucia
must marry the influential nobleman, Lord Arturo
Bucklaw.
Act 1, Scene 1. The Grounds of Ravenswood Castle
19th century engraving of the ruins of Fast Castle, near
St Abbs Head, Berwickshire. Fast Castle is believed to
have been an inspiration for Wolf's Crag, the home of
the Master of Ravenswood in Sir Walter Scott's The
Bride of Lammermoor.
As his men search the grounds for an intruder, Enrico complains that Lucia has refused to even consider
marrying Lord Bucklaw. Raimondo, the chaplain, counsels patience: the girl is still in mourning for her
mother and isn’t ready to think of love. Normanno, captain of the guard, contends that, on the contrary,
Lucia has fallen passionately in love with a stranger who saved her from a bull. Normanno is sure this
man, who meets her secretly every morning, is none other than Edgardo, the sworn enemy of the
Lammermoor family.
Enrico flies into a rage (Cruda, funesta smania), which intensifies when his men return to report they
have sighted the intruder, who is indeed Edgardo. As Raimondo tries to calm him, Enrico swears
vengeance on both his sister and her lover.
Act 1, Scene 2. Twilight, by a Fountain in the Park
Lucia, accompanied by Alisa, waits nervously for Edgardo. She tells Alisa that she never sees the fountain
without shivering, for legend has it that a jealous Ravenswood killed his sweetheart on this very spot.
Lucia recalls that the spectre of the murdered girl once appeared to her (Ragnava nel silenzio) and the
waters of the fountain turned to blood. Alisa warns Lucia that this is a dangerous omen and urges her to
give up Edgardo. But Lucia rhapsodizes about her lover – he brings light to her days, and being with him
is heaven on earth (Quando rapito in estasi).
Edgardo arrives, explaining that he has asked for this one last meeting with Lucia because he is about to
leave on a political mission to France. He wants to make peace with Enrico and ask him for Lucia’s hand
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3
in marriage. Lucia tells him that is impossible and begs him to keep their love secret. Edgardo responds
bitterly that Enrico has robbed him of his father and his heritage, yet there seems no end to his hatred.
He reminds Lucia that when his father died, he swore vengeance against Enrico (Sulla tomba che
rinserra). Despite his love for Lucia, he has not forgotten that vow. Lucia begs him to calm himself and
to think only of love.
Edgardo decides that they should exchange marriage vows then and there. He and Lucia exchange rings
and call on heaven to witness their pledges of eternal love. As they say farewell, they sing of how painful
their time apart will be (Verranno a te sull'aure).
Act 2, Scene 1. Enrico’s apartments, several months later
Determined to salvage his family fortunes, Enrico has
arranged for Arturo Bucklaw to marry Lucia, but Lucia’s
persistent refusal has him worried. Normanno reassures
him: the letters between Edgardo and Lucia have been
intercepted, and Normanno has forged a letter to prove
that Edgardo is involved with another woman. The
wedding guests are gathering, and Normanno leaves to
escort Arturo to the castle.
Lucia enters; she is pale and anguished, but still defiant.
She tells Enrico she cannot marry Arturo, for she has made
a solemn promise to another. When Enrico shows her the
forged letter, she is so devastated that she longs only for
death. Enrico exhorts her to agree to the marriage – his
honour and his very life are at stake, and he will haunt her
forever if she betrays him.
Act 2, Scene 2. The Grand Hall of the Castle
Raimondo tells Lucia that her vow to Edgardo was not
blessed by a clergyman and so means nothing. He urges
her to marry Arturo for the sake of her family and her
mother’s memory. Her resistance to the marriage finally crumbles.
As the wedding ceremony begins, Enrico explains to Arturo that if Lucia seems despondent, it is only
because she is still mourning her mother. Enrico orders Lucia to sign the marriage contract. At the
moment she finally does so, Edgardo bursts into the hall.
In the sextet that follows, the characters express their emotional turmoil: Edgardo is torn between rage
and love; Enrico is stricken with remorse as he sees Lucia’s profound distress; Raimondo, Arturo, Alisa,
and the chorus are horrified and moved by her plight: Like a withered rose she stands between death
and life! Anyone who does not feel for her has a tiger's heart in his breast.
Enrico and Arturo demand that Edgardo leave at once or be killed. Raimondo intervenes and shows
Edgardo the marriage contract. Edgardo throws his ring at Lucia, demands hers back, and then, cursing
her, leaves in a fury.
Act 3, Scene 1. The Wolf's Crag
That night, Enrico rides through a storm to Edgardo’s tower, taunts him with the news that Lucia and
Arturo are married, and challenges him to a duel. They agree to meet at dawn in the graveyard at
Ravenswood.
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4
Act 3, Scene 2. The Great Hall
The wedding celebrations are in full swing when Raimondo enters with terrible news: Lucia has lost her
mind and stabbed her new husband to death. Amid the wedding guests' expressions of horror and grief,
Lucia enters.
She recalls falling in love with Edgardo (Il dolce suono) and imagines that they are about to be married.
For a moment she hallucinates that the ghost of the girl who was killed by the fountain comes between
them. As Lucia breathes in the fragrance of incense (Ardon gl'incensi), she rejoices that she and Edgardo
will be together. Give me your hand...Oh, happy day! At last I am yours, you are mine!
Enrico enters, and his anger quickly turns to remorse as Lucia agonizes over her memory of Edgardo's
rage at her apparent betrayal. She swears that Enrico forced her to sign the wedding contract and that
she always loved Edgardo. She ends with a final prayer (Spargi d'amaro pianto), begging him to scatter
his tears of anguish over her earthly remains and promising to pray for him: Only when you join me will
Heaven be beautiful for me!
Act 3, Scene 3. The Graveyard of the Ravenswood Family
Surrounded by the graves of his ancestors, Edgardo awaits Enrico, lamenting Lucia’s faithlessness and
hoping he will be killed in the duel (Fra poco a me ricovero). A group of wedding guests approach and
tell him what has happened. Lucia is dying and calling out his name. As Edgardo is about to rush to see
her one last time, Raimondo arrives to say she is dead. Realizing now that she has loved him all along,
Edgardo vows to meet her in heaven (Tu che a Dio spiegasti l’ali) and stabs himself as the horrified
mourners pray for God to forgive him.
Maureen Woodall
The Music of Lucia di Lammermoor
Discover the beauty and drama of Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor through these selections from Youtube.
These links can also be accessed at http://www.pov.bc.ca/lucia-music.html
ACT 1 LOVE DUET: Verranno a te sull'aure
https://youtu.be/s7iTpnA0JxQ (A short excerpt from Tracy Dahl's performance with Arizona Opera in 2007.
https://youtu.be/OdWrJccXOSM (Beverly Sills as Lucia and Carlo Bergonzi as Edgardo in a classic 1970
recording of the duet, conducted by Thomas Schippers with the London Symphony Orchestra.)
Despite an ancient feud between their families, Lucia of Lammermoor and Edgardo of Ravenswood have fallen in
love. Lucia's brother Enrico has dispossessed Edgardo of his ancestral home and caused the death of Edgardo's
father. Now Enrico is working to consolidate his own fortunes by pressing Lucia to marry Lord Arturo Bucklaw.
Edgardo has arranged one last meeting with Lucia before he departs for France on a political mission. He wants to
make peace with her brother and ask him for her hand in marriage. Lucia tells him that is impossible and begs
Edgardo to keep their love secret. Edgardo tells her he has not forgotten his vow of vengeance against Enrico.
Lucia calms him down and they exchange rings and promises of eternal love. In the duet Verranno a te sull'aure
they sing of how painful their time apart will be.
Verranno a te sull'aure i miei sospiri ardenti
My ardent sighs will come to you on the breeze,
You will hear in the murmuring sea the echo of my laments.
When you think of me living on tears and grief,
Then shed a bitter tear on this ring
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5
Act II SEXTET: Chi mi frena in tal momento
https://youtu.be/PSoh8SQm1xc
This video is from the 1951 movie The Great Caruso,
a fictionalized biography of Enrico Caruso. Mario
Lanza plays Caruso, and is joined in the
performance of the Sextet by soprano Dorothy
Kirsten, mezzo-soprano Blanche Thebom, tenor
Gilbert Russell, baritone Giuseppe Valdengo, bass
Nicola Moscona, and conductor Peter Herman
Adler.
There is a tendency to dismiss Mario Lanza as a
product of Hollywood – a movie idol, rather than a
Caricature of the "Lucia Sextet", circa 1900 (Civica Raccolta
legitimate opera singer. However, many
Stampe Bertarelli Milan)
professional singers spoke very highly of him, and
he inspired generations of opera singers, including José Carreras and Plácido Domingo. In a 1973 interview,
Maria Callas said of Lanza, My biggest regret is not to have had the opportunity of singing with the greatest
tenor voice I've ever heard. .
Caruso's son, Enrico Jr., himself a singer, wrote: [Through the film] Lanza became a household name: thanks
to him, opera was no longer an art form for an elite group of eggheads, but was acceptable entertainment for
all ... Mario Lanza was born with one of the dozen or so great tenor voices of the century ... I can think of no
other tenor ... who could have risen with comparable success to the challenge of playing Caruso in a screen
biography.
The video is a happier performance of the Sextet than is perhaps strictly appropriate, for reasons that will
become clear as you watch.
Determined to salvage his family fortunes, Enrico plots to force Lucia to marry the wealthy nobleman Arturo
Bucklaw. Having learned of Lucia's love affair with Edgardo, he has had Normanno, the captain of his guard,
intercept the couple's letters. Normanno has also forged a letter that suggests Edgardo is now involved with
another woman. When Enrico shows the letter to Lucia, her resistance to the marriage crumbles. Bullied by Enrico
and persuaded by her chaplain Raimondo, she finally agrees to marry Arturo for the sake of her family.
At the wedding celebration Lucia is despondent. Enrico explains to Arturo that she is still mourning for her dead
mother. With great trepidation, she signs the marriage contract. At that moment, Edgardo bursts into the hall.
In the sextet that follows, the characters express their emotional turmoil: Edgardo and Enrico are torn between
rage and pity for Lucia, who is deeply distraught; Raimondo, Arturo, Lucia's maid Alisa, and the chorus are horrified
and moved by Lucia's plight.
When Enrico, Arturo and Edgardo draw their swords, Raimondo prevents their fighting, then shows Edgardo the
marriage contract. Edgardo throws his ring at Lucia, demands hers back, and then, cursing her, leaves in a fury.
Chi mi frena in tal momento?
[Edgardo] What restrains me at such a moment? What has cooled my raging fury?
Her grief and terror are surely proof of her remorse ...
But like a fading rose she stands between death and life ... I love you, heartless girl, I love you still!
[Enrico] Who restrains my righteous fury?
and the hand that flies to my sword?
... She is my blood, I betrayed her
She stands between death and life!
Alas, I cannot extinguish the remorse that fills my heart.
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6
[Lucia] I hoped that terror would cut short my life,
but death will not help me... I must live on in anguish! ...
I would weep, but I cannot, even tears have forsaken me.
[The others] Like a withered rose she stands between death
and life!
Anyone who does not feel for her has a tiger's heart in his
breast.
https://youtu.be/14tdvxUvxFU Here is a link to the real Caruso
singing the sextet in a 1917 recording with Amelita Galli-Curci,
Minnie Egener, Giuseppe De Luca, Angelo Bada and Marcel
Journet.
The photograph above was taken outside of the Victor Talking
Machine Company in Camden, New Jersey at the sessions for this recording. Left to Right: Giuseppe De Luca,
Amelita Galli-Curci, Enrico Caruso, Flora Perini (who was recording the Rigoletto Quartet with Caruso, De Luca, and
Galli-Curci), Angelo Bada and Minnie Egener. Marcel Journet is absent from the photo.
ACT 3: THE MAD SCENE: Il dolce suono ... Ardon gl'incensi ... Spargi d'amaro pianto
https://youtu.be/N0iwPXhutRA (A brief clip from Tracy Dahl's performance of Spargi d'amaro pianto, near
the end of Lucia's mad scene, in a 2007 production by Arizona Opera.)
The so-called Mad Scene is perhaps the most famous section of the opera and the finest example of a
tradition that flourished in early 19th-century Italian opera. This was the age of bel canto – beautiful singing –
when music was designed to show off the delectable vocal line and technical virtuosity of the singer. A
scenery-chewing mad scene was a perfect way for a diva to show what what vocal fireworks she could
muster.
However, Lucia's final scene is not a descent into raving hysteria, but a more subtle, dramatic portrayal of a
woman who, shattering under the pressures she has endured, finally breaks with reality.
The wedding celebrations are in full swing when Raimondo enters with terrible news: Lucia has lost her
mind and stabbed her new husband to death. Amid the wedding guests' expressions of horror and grief, Lucia
enters.
In the aria "Il dolce suono" she recalls falling in love with Edgardo and imagines that she has escaped from his
enemies and that they are about to be married. For a moment she hallucinates that the ghost of a girl who
was killed by her jealous lover comes between them.
Il dolce suono mi colpì di sua voce!
I was stirred by the sweet sound of his voice!
Ah, that voice won this heart of mine!
Edgardo, I am yours again ...
Alas! The dreadful phantom rises up and separates us!
Two of the greatest exponents of the role of Lucia were Joan Sutherland (La Stupenda) and Maria Callas (La
Divina).
Sutherland is admired for her spectacular vocal agility and technique, her spine-chilling virtuosity, and sheer
beauty of sound. Callas is noted for the profound emotional depth, subtlety of tone, and tragic stature that
she brought to the character. Sutherland is dazzling. Callas is heartbreaking. Both are absolutely hypnotic.
https://youtu.be/-MSsi-iysCA Maria Callas sings Il dolce suono in a 1953 recording at the Teatro
Communale, Florence with the Chorus and Orchestra of the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Tullio Serafin,
Conductor.
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7
As Lucia breathes in the fragrance of incense, she rejoices that she and Edgardo will be together.
Ardon gl'incensi
The incense is burning ... Here is the minister!
Give me your hand...Oh, happy day!
At last I am yours, you are mine! God gave you to me
Every pleasure is better to me when shared with you.
From a kindly heaven, life will be laughter for us.
This section of the scene often ends in an elaborate extended cadenza featuring a brilliant duet between
soprano and flute. The singer may improvise her own cadenza, as did Fanny Tacchinardi Persiani, the first
Lucia. Many sopranos now use a cadenza that was first written for Nellie Melba nearly 50 years after the
première of the opera.
https://youtu.be/jw-GMyxPL3I Joan Sutherland sings Ardon gl’incensi in her breakthrough performance at
Covent Garden in 1959.
Enrico enters, furious at what Lucia has done, but when he sees the state she is in, he is filled with remorse.
Lucia agonizes over her memory of Edgardo's rage at her apparent betrayal. She swears she was forced to
sign the wedding contract by Enrico. She begs him to believe she has always loved him and tells him heaven
will be beautiful to her only when he joins her.
Spargi d'amaro pianto Il mio terrestre velo
Sprinkle with bitter tears my earthly veil,
while up there in Heaven I will pray for you.
Only when you join me will Heaven be beautiful for me!
https://youtu.be/tsqVvj_HUOQ Maria Callas sings Spargi d'amaro pianto in a legendary performance of the
opera, conducted by Herbert Von Karajan and recorded live in 1955 at the Berlin State Opera, with the La
Scala Chorus and the RIAS Symphony Orchestra.
MAD SCENE with ALIEN DIVA: Il dolce suono ...
The Diva Dance
https://youtu.be/4MR6D7tL38U
The 1997 French science fiction film The Fifth Element stars
Bruce Willis, Milla Jovovich, and Gary Oldman in the story of
an epic struggle to save 23rd century earth from Evil.
In this scene, an alien opera singer named Plavalaguna gives
a riveting performance of Il dolce suono – followed by the
other-worldly Diva Dance (which is not in Lucia di
Lammermoor). Meanwhile the orange-haired heroine,
played by Jovovich, battles a group of brutish Mangalores.
The alien diva Plavalaguna is played by Maïwenn Besco, who is lip-synching to the voice of Albanian soprano
Inva Mula. The concert hall in the scene is the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.
Maureen Woodall
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8
Bel Canto Then and Now
Any discussion of Donizetti's musical characteristics must begin with bel canto, or "beautiful singing," a term
which encompasses not only a school of Italian operatic composition but a technical approach to singing and
even the delivery of Italian text.
Historically we encounter the term for the first time in mid-17th century Italy, where a highly idiomatic and
technically systematic approach to vocal writing and performance had developed since the early days of the
Florentine camerata.
It didn't become widely used, however, until a century or so later, during the heyday of Handel and the
international star system, those charismatic (sometimes notorious) sopranos and castrati whose mastery of
vocal technique remains the stuff of legend. Thus many historians will point out that the operas of
Monteverdi, Cavalli, and Piccini – to say nothing of such foreigners as Handel, Gluck, and Mozart – contain
vocal writing that is bel canto in virtually every aspect.
The majority of opera-goers, however, identify the term bel canto primarily with a generation of Italian-born
composers working in the first few decades of the 19th century, and specifically with the mighty triumvirate
of Gioacchino Rossini (1792-1868), Vincenzo Bellini (1801-1835), and our man of the hour, Gaetano Donizetti
(1797-1848) who among them produced no fewer than 116 operas.
As the eighteenth century drew to a close, Italian opera – once the predominant style in houses throughout
much of Europe (always excepting France) – had become only one of several national schools, among which it
was the least susceptible to the radical changes, challenges, and seductions of the Romantic movement. In
Vienna, where a large community of Italian operatic artists worked and flourished, the two decades from
1790 to 1810 saw productions of Mozart's Die Zauberflöte and Beethoven's Fidelio; important new works
were also produced in Paris.
In Italy this was a relatively stagnant period in opera – not in terms of quantity but of advanced ideas.
Moreover, opera was the only important Italian musical outlet at this time outside of the church; such a
situation inevitably encourages a conservative attitude.
Therefore the distinction between opera seria and the less formal opera buffa prevailed in Italy until well into
the new century. Opera seria, as defined by its guiding genius Pietro Metastasio (1698-1782), recognized only
three types of solo song, beginning with recitativo. This is a kind of heightened speech in which the words are
sung but the rhythm is meant to imitate that of spoken Italian (i.e., there is no regular, dance-like meter).
There are two types of recitativo, depending on how the singer is accompanied: secco (accompanied only by
chords played on the harpsichord with the bass line emphasized by a bass clef instrument such as the cello);
and accompagnato (the vocal line is accompanied – or at least punctuated – by the orchestra). After that
comes the solo aria, during which the singer was rarely interrupted.
Although the greatest 18th-century opera serie – those by Handel and Mozart – are genuine masterpieces
still produced today, the rather strict formal pattern became somewhat constraining, and as the 19th century
progressed was modified by a more or less thorough intermingling, in the same scene, of several soloists and
different types of solo song, more ensembles, choruses, and orchestral passages, the whole being organized
on a broad musical-dramatic plan.
Recitativo secco becomes less and less prominent, although it's featured in many important bel canto works
(eg., Rossini's Il barbiere di Siviglia and Donizetti's L'elisir d'amore). A useful and versatile construct inherited
from the 18th century (eg., the three great collaborations of Mozart and Lorenzo da Ponte) was the scena ed
aria for a single soloist, which consisted of a recitativo accompagnato followed by an aria. Often the aria itself
was in two parts: a slow or slowish expressive section followed by a faster, concluding section often featuring
rapid passagework in the vocal line. These distinct sections are often called the cavatina and the cabaletta;
this type of aria structure outlived its roots and can be found in Verdi (La traviata) and Stravinsky (The Rake's
Progress).
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9
In later life, while mourning its loss even in Italian opera, Rossini commented on the essential components of
bel canto singing:
a) the Instrument – the voice – the Stradivarius, if you like;
b) technique –that is to say, the means of using the Instrument – and the intensive training necessary
to sustain a long, legato, espressivo line as well as the agility demanded by faster coloratura writing;
c) innate taste and feeling – or Style. Rossini emphasized that this really cannot be taught, but must be
acquired as the novice listens to and studies great singers. "Style is Tradition."
Although the term legato is frequently used by musicians to suggest an overall quality of smoothness, the
word itself means "tied – or bound – together," and in this context refers to the binding together of pure
Italian vowels – so named because their pronunciation follows that of Italian pronunciation and because they
are "pure" monophthongs (i.e., they are not blended together with other vowels to form diphthongs in the
manner of English words such as "weight" or "how"). A strand of sustained vowels – only minimally
interrupted by the consonants – is the essence of vocal line, and produces the limpid diction so characteristic
of Italianate (as opposed to, say, German or English) diction.
Equally important was equality of timbre throughout the range (or registers) of the voice. Coloratura really
just means "colouring," although for many years the term has referred to rapid, virtuosic passagework and
also to the high soprano voice type associated so frequently with florid display (this is misleading, as one
encounters coloratura writing for all voice types in the bel canto repertoire).
Among the qualities of fine coloratura singing are the ability to maintain a single vowel throughout an
elaborate run, and the absence of intrusive aspirants or "aitches." At all times the technique of singing is
rooted firmly in the two separate yet co-ordinated functions of breath and support.
Vocal training was intense and thorough in Rossini's (and Donizetti's) day; it demanded great patience.
During the first three years of study a pupil might learn only exercises or vocalises that imparted correct
vowel placement and agility, mastery of fast ornaments, scales and arpeggios, various trills, etc., with a
further three years devoted to putting all of these components together.
Unsurprisingly, then, the focus of bel canto opera is on the singing. First,
there is considerable variety in the declamation and accompaniment of
Donizetti's recitatives, allowing the fundamental storyline to be conveyed
not only succinctly and economically, but with arresting drama.
But of course what reigns supreme in a bel canto opera is melody, and
Donizetti was blessed with a seemingly inexhaustible and richly varied
supply. Whether slow, lyrical, and expressive, or fast, dramatic, and fiery,
this composer unerringly comes up with exactly the right tune for each
dramatic situation, providing the singer with opportunities to display not
only character, but artistry. (The early 19th-century bel canto composer,
like his 17th-and 18th-century counterparts in the world of Italian opera,
allowed and even expected his singers to "improvise" additional
embellishments and ornamentation, sometimes to the extent of rewriting the vocal line entirely. Whether this practice was embraced or
tolerated by the composer is a matter for conjecture, although I suspect it
was more the latter than the former.)
Gaetano Donizetti, c.1835
The Italian opera orchestra, from its earliest days, functioned primarily as
an accompanist, supporting and enhancing but never competing with the onstage singing and action.
As the 19th century progressed, German composers in particular tended to assign to the orchestra a dramatic
role equal to that of the voice; this was never the case with Italian composers, not even Verdi, not even
Puccini. True, there are occasions (beginning with Monteverdi's Orfeo of 1607) when the accompaniment
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depicts or underscores the action or text as only an orchestral instrument can; other instances in which the
composer asks for a banda, or onstage ensemble to create the illusion of a house band in a party scene. But
these are exceptional cases, reserved only for special – and appropriate – occasions.
This is not meant to imply that Italian opera accompaniments are dull or merely serviceable. Due largely to
the influence and example of Johann Simon Mayr (1763-1845), a German-born composer who spent most of
his life in Italy – and who was Donizetti's teacher – Italian pit orchestras became richer in sonority and
texture, using woodwind and brass instruments to an extent hitherto unheard-of, and not only in overtures
and set pieces, but also in accompaniments.
There must be many reasons why bel canto opera fell out of favor in the latter part of the 19th century. It
was an inevitable casualty of the Romantic era's loudly-proclaimed search for "truth" in art – and perhaps
after Rossini, Bellini, and Donizetti there was no more, stylistically, to be said in this idiom.
Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901) inherited much from these three composers, and without ever entirely
abandoning their principles, expanded on them to an extent unimaginable in the century's early decades.
New music in a wide variety of genres was being produced in more countries than ever before (Italy
continued to produce her most notable masterworks in the sacred and operatic fields alone) and by the end
of the 19th century, due in great part to the stupendous innovations of Richard Wagner (1813-1883), the
Germanic-Viennese school of composition was almost universally regarded as the apex of accomplishment.
Finally: if, as Rossini insisted, the qualities of vocalism we associate with bel canto were an intrinsic part of
"tradition," we must acknowledge that, as younger artists in pursuit of the new come to the fore, traditions
must be set to one side, albeit temporarily.
Now, in the 21st century, the term bel canto is usually uttered with more than a hint of nostalgia for a long
past "Golden Age" of singing, a past dimly recalled, scratchily recorded, and (perhaps) idealized. Certainly
when I think of the paradigms of bel canto singing, the names that come to mind are few and from a previous
era: Rosa Ponselle, Maria Callas, Joan Sutherland, Montserrat Caballé, Marilyn Horne. All of these singers
sang other repertoire, but to me they were at their greatest in Rossini, Bellini, Donizetti, Verdi (keeping in
mind that I know them all only through recordings).
The mid-20th-century resurgence of interest in bel canto traditions owes an incalculable debt to Mme. Callas
(although the diva's more rabid fans should be reminded that she did not accomplish this feat singlehandedly; her allies include that maestro of maestri, Tullio Serafin). However, without the contributions of
the other great artists on my list (and many . . . well, several) others, the interest might have been shortlived.
In any case, it wasn't a truly exhaustive revival: Gaetano Donizetti was the most prolific of bel canto
composers, completing some 66 works, and most of these continue to languish in obscurity.
But unquestionably – despite all the vicissitudes that have plagued our beloved, recalcitrant, obstreperous,
impossible art form since the first public opera house opened in 1637 – the works in our permanent
repertoire include L'elisir d'amore, Don Pasquale, La fille du régiment, Maria Stuarda, and Lucia di
Lammermoor – operas by Donizetti that will be performed as long as some people want to sing them and
others want to listen.
Robert Holliston
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Donizetti’s British Invasion
A prolific composer of some 66 operas, Gaetano Donizetti
(1797 - 1848) is best known for just a handful: L'elisir d'amore
(1832), Lucia di Lammermoor (1835), Don Pasquale (1843), and
La fille du régiment (1840). But in the last half century there has
been a Donizetti renaissance of sorts as more and more of his
works – and their coloratura delights – are revived.
The romantic exoticism of British stories and locales found its
way into nine of Donizetti's operas. The most famous of course
is Lucia di Lammermoor (1835), based on Walter Scott's gothic
romance, The Bride of Lammermoor, and set in the
Lammermuir Hills of Scotland. But Donizetti was intrigued with
British history and literature as a starting point for opera as
early as 1823 with Alfredo il grande (Alfred the Great) – a
spectacular failure that flopped after a single performance.
Gaetano Donizetti:
Caricature of himself c. 1843
By 1830, Donizetti's international reputation was established
with the Milan première of Anna Bolena, the first of his 'Three
Queens' trilogy; it tells of the last days of Anne Boleyn (second wife of Henry VIII, mother of Elizabeth I, and
heroine of one of Donizetti's many mad scenes). The second in this Tudor mini-series is Maria Stuarda, with
its riveting, though fictional, meeting between Queen Elizabeth I and Mary, Queen of Scots. Finally, Roberto
Devereux (1837) is a May-December romance between Elizabeth I and Robert Devereux, the Earl of Essex. All
three operas (spoiler alert!) end with the execution of the title character; none can be relied on for sober
historical accuracy – in fact Roberto Devereux ends with Queen Elizabeth going mad and abdicating.
Donizetti's mashups of British history also included Il castello di Kenilworth, another Walter Scott vehicle and
yet another Elizabeth - Leicester love triangle; L'assedio di Calais, a fictionalization of the 1346 siege of Calais;
and Rosmonda d'Inghilterra, a murderous royal triangle about Henry II, his queen, Eleanor of Aquitaine, and
the Other Woman, Fair Rosamund – also veering toward the libellous, as, contrary to Donizetti's opera and
persistent legends, there is no historical evidence that Eleanor killed her rival (in fact Rosamund eventually
retired to a nunnery).
Finally, there is the opera that was rescued from utter obscurity by proud Liverpudlians. This is Emilia di
Liverpool, set improbably in an alpine hermitage a short distance from London. It premiered in Naples in
1824, with only modest success. Donizetti had great hopes for it, and after revisions it re-emerged in 1828 as
L'Eremitaggio Di Liwerpool [sic].
Alas, it continued to languish, receiving brief revivals in Naples in 1838 and 1871 . . . and then nothing for
nearly a century, until June 1957 when Fritz Spiegl, principal flautist of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic
Orchestra and founder of the Liverpool Music Group, rediscovered the opera and came up with the bright
idea of presenting a concert performance of Emilia di Liverpool to celebrate Liverpool's 750th birthday. Three
months later, a shortened version was broadcast by the BBC, this time with a young Joan Sutherland in the
title role. The opera popped up yet again in 2008 to mark Liverpool's status as European Capital of Culture.
– And yes, you can hear it on Youtube! Here's a sample of Joan Sutherland's 1957 performance of Emilia's
rondo finale, "Confusa è l'alma mia", from Emilia di Liverpool. Make sure to listen through to the end; it's a
tour de force of vocal pyrotechnics. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90gyxHWr7Rk
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Links and Resources
Lucia di Lammermoor
http://www.pov.bc.ca/pdfs/lucia_newsletter.pdf POV Newsletter on Lucia di Lammermoor.
https://www.chandos.net/pdf/CHAN%203083.pdf
Libretto of the Opera CD booklet from the Chandos Opera in English series, using a translation by David Parry
(begins on p.98)
http://www.librettidopera.it/lucialam/pdf.html PDF of the Italian libretto.
http://petrucci.mus.auth.gr/imglnks/usimg/f/f3/IMSLP325716-PMLP51145-Donizetti_-_Lucia_VS_complete.pdf
Piano/Vocal Score of the Opera in Italian and English. Note this is a very large (34MB) pdf file and may take
some time to download.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucia_di_Lammermoor
Wikipedia article on the opera, including some discussion of the music in popular culture.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaetano_Donizetti
Wikipedia article on Gaetano Donizetti, the composer of Lucia di Lammermoor
http://www.theguardian.com/music/2010/jan/28/lucia-di-lammermoor-donizetti
Lucia di Lammermoor's mad tragedy in Donizetti's mad life: Roger Parker of The Guardian discusses the
meaning and music of Lucia's final scene, including the "crazy cadenzas and exotic old instrument" that help
make it so appealing, as well as the sad parallel with Donizetti who himself died in a state of mental
derangement due to neurosyphilis.
http://www.classicalshop.net/download_booklet.aspx?file=OP%200008.pdf
Emilia di Liverpool and L'Eremitaggio Di Liwerpool (pdf)
Can't get enough Donizetti? Peruse the CD Booklet from an Opera Rara recording of both versions of
Donizetti's Liverpudlian opus, with copious notes, photos, and both libretti.
If you'd like to savour the charming music from this early work of Donizetti, you can listen to most of the
historic 1957 Liverpool broadcast on Youtube (below). If you decide to follow along with the libretto, be
warned that although this performance was billed as Emilia di Liverpool, it was actually the 1828 revision,
L'eremitaggio di Liwerpool; the libretto begins on page 204 of the CD booklet.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfFTMNRH6qc&feature=player_embedded
Joan Sutherland is Emilia di Liverpool in this historic broadcast from Liverpool in 1957. Jonh Pritchard
conducts the Royal Liverpool Philarmonic with the singers of the Liverpool Music Group.
Walter Scott, The Bride of Lammermoor, and The Bride of Baldoon
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bride_of_Lammermoor
The Bride of Lammermoor: Wikipedia article with a synopsis of the novel and a discussion of the story that
inspired the novel.
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/471/471-h/471-h.htm
The Bride of Lammermoor: Text of the novel by Walter Scott on which Donizetti's opera is based. The
introduction by the author tells the source of his story.
Miss Janet Dalrymple, daughter of the first Lord Stair and Dame Margaret Ross, had engaged herself
without the knowledge of her parents to the Lord Rutherford, who was not acceptable to them either on
account of his political principles or his want of fortune...Shortly after, a suitor who was favoured by Lord
Stair, and still more so by his lady, paid his addresses to Miss Dalrymple. The young lady refused the proposal,
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and being pressed on the subject, confessed her secret engagement. Lady Stair, a woman accustomed to
universal submission, for even her husband did not dare to contradict her, treated this objection as a trifle,
and insisted upon her daughter yielding her consent to marry the new suitor, David Dunbar.
While Donizetti has Lucia bullied into marriage by her brother, Scott tells us that the most intense pressure
for the girl to marry came from her formidable mother. Janet succumbed to her mother's pressure and
married David Dunbar of Baldoon Castle. On the wedding night horrible screaming was heard from the
couple's bedroom, where the groom lay stabbed and bleeding. Scott goes on to recount what happened
next:
The bride ... was found grinning at them, mopping and mowing, as I heard the expression used; in a word,
absolutely insane. The only words she spoke were, "Tak up your bonny bridegroom." She survived this horrible
scene little more than a fortnight, having been married on the 24th of August, and dying on the 12th of
September 1669.
Unlike Arturo Bucklaw in Donizetti's opera, David Dunbar did recover from his wounds, but refused to ever
speak of what happened. He died 13 years later in a fall from a horse.
To this day no one knows for certain what had happened, although rumours
flew. Many believed Janet had gone mad and stabbed her new husband.
Some claimed that Rutherford had slipped into the castle and done the deed.
Some blamed Satan himself; others witchcraft (Janet's mother, Margaret
Ross, was actually nicknamed the Witch of Endor and popularly believed to
have made a pact with the devil that ensured her family's great prosperity
and led to the tragedy that befell her daughter).
http://freespace.virgin.net/harold.hall/bride_of_lammermoor.pdf
The Real Bride of Lammermoor: The true story of Janet Dalrymple, The Bride
of Baldoon: An engaging exploration of the story of Janet Dalrymple and her
ill-fated marriage to David Dunbar, with an account of the families of all
involved (including their present-day descendants), even a facsimile of "The
Fatal Deed," the original marriage contract between Janet Dalrymple and
David Dunbar. The author is strikingly sympathetic toward Margaret Ross,
the mother, but does mention that she was known as the Witch of Endor.
This essay was written by Rosemary Bythell and published on behalf of the
Wigtown Heritage Group. Wigtown is situated only a few miles from Baldoon
Castle where Janet Dalrymple died.
The ruins of Carscreugh Castle,
the home of Janet Dalrymple, on
whom Sir Walter Scott based his
heroine Lucy, the Bride of
Lammermoor.
Maureen Woodall
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14
Study Activities
Exploring Plot and Character
Create a character sketch for one of the characters in Lucia di Lammermoor (for example, Enrico, Alisa, Lucia).
Questions you might ask about the character include:
What are we told about this character? (read the synopsis or the libretto for clues)
What else do we know about this character? (What do the character’s actions and words tell us?)
What is the character’s relationship with the other characters?
Why does the character make the choices he or she does?
Include evidence from the opera to support your claim. Keep in mind the music sung by your character. Do
the emotions conveyed through the music fit the character sketches?
Create a journal or a Facebook page for your character. Write about the events of the opera from that
character’s point of view. Write in the first person, and include only information that the character would
know.
After seeing the opera, look at your character sketch again. Does any aspect of the performance or the
music you heard change your view of the character you have profiled? Why?
Do the emotions conveyed through the music fit the character sketch?
After the Opera
Draw a picture of your favourite scene in the opera.
What is happening in this scene?
What characters are depicted?
Create an opera design.
Design and draw a stage set for a scene in Lucia di Lammermoor.
Design and draw costumes for the characters in the scene.
Write a review of the opera.
What did you think about the sets, props and costumes?
Would you have done something differently? Why?
What were you expecting? Did it live up to your expectations?
Talk about the singers. Describe their characters. Describe their voices.
Who was your favourite character?
What was your favourite visual moment in the opera?
What was your favourite musical moment in the opera?
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Lucia di Lammermoor Guide

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