Class 6: A Private Lucia

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6. A Private Lucia. I was unsure whether to place this opera in the "Familiar" section or the "Special Cases" one. Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor is familiar, certainly, as being one of the most frequently-performed operas, and, with its 18-minute Mad Scene, the supreme test for a dramatic coloratura soprano. And indeed, with the 2009 staging by Mary Zimmerman at the Met (top left) that we will use to tell its story and introduce two of its most famous numbers, we reference a production that the composer himself would have understood, although he would have been overawed by its budget and pictorial magnificence.

Most of our examples, though, will be taken from the 2016 production by Katie Mitchell at the Royal Opera House in London (bottom right)—and this is a very special case indeed. Mitchell, as a committed feminist, is disturbed by the fact that, large though the role is, Donizetti's portrait of Lucia is partial at best: she is presented entirely through the eyes of the men who manipulate and use her, she is largely absent for the second half of the opera, and she reveals herself in solo arias only when she is hallucinating or mad. So Mitchell looks to discover the woman living somewhere backstage in the scenes where she does not normally appear. It is an unusual approach that begins somewhat sensationally but settles into a logic that is both believable and sympathetic.

Want a synopsis? The handout above probably tells you all you need to know. But if you want something online, try this amusing and very short capsule summary or this much more detailed 16-minute analysis. I would also recommend this 5-minute rehearsal of the Mad Scene with soprano Lisette Oropesa, who took over the role in the Mitchell production. Script, videos, and images will be posted immediately after class.

Handout Class Script

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VIDEO LINKS

The major problem this week is that the 2016 Katie Mitchell production in London that we featured is poorly represented on YouTube and out of print as a DVD. We do, however, have Mitchell's excellent 5-minute explanation of her concept, which I thoroughly recommend, plus a public presentation with most of the creative team that is long (80-minutes) but interesting. Other than those, we have three clips from the production, but only the love duet overlaps with what we saw in class. [I should perhaps explain that, in Mitchell's staging of the Mad Scene, Lucia is joined by two figments of her imagination: the drowned woman from the well, and her lover Edgardo.]

The 2009 Mary Zimmerman production at the Met fares much better. From the Anna Netrebko cast we saw, we have Lucia's first aria (not played in class) and the Sextet (which was). There is also the Live-in-HD broadcast of a later revival, led by Natalie Dessay, complete and with English titles. I give cues to the Act I love duet, and to the two scenes heard in class.

Since this is a course on Opera Production, I offer a number of trailers from other productions. Most are quite short, and it is worth scolling quickly through them just to see the range of approaches out there. Some I understand just from the trailer; others leave me baffled! These include the current production at the Met by Australian director Simon Stone, which replaced the Zimmerman one in 2024 (repeating the all-too common modern Met phenomenon of class giving way to trash)—but for a selection of other opinions, see the reviews here, here, and here).

The final section focuses on the notorious Mad Scene. I include the psychological analysis and Lisette Oropesa coaching clips I already put on the preview. There is also a coaching at the Met with Pretty Yende that is especially interesting for featuring the glass harmonica that gives a special flavor to this scene. The staging in Venice with Nadine Sierra treats the glass harmonica idea almost literally. Then come two clips with Diana Damrau, one making an audio recording with orchestra, the other in an extraordinary production from Munich where she holds the guests hostage with a gun! Finally, two historical footnotes: the farewell performance of Dame Joan Sutherland whose 1959 London debut in the role virtually launched the modern Lucia revival, and the extraordinary high F of an earlier diva, Lily Pons, albeit in the 1937 Hollywood comedy Hitting a High Note.

*Asterisks mark the only two clips that were seen in class. rb.

MARY ZIMMERMAN, MET 2009
	Netrebko cast	* First Lucia aria * Sextet
	Dessay Cast	* Complete (English titles) * Love duet * Marriage contract and Sextet * Mad Scene
KATIE MITCHELL, LONDON 2016
	About the production	* Trailer * The Power of the Female (Mitchell—EXCELLENT!) * About the production (80-minute public presentation)
	Excerpts	* Love duet (partial overlap with clip shown) * Sextet (excerpt) * Mad scene, complete (rather soft, no titles) * — excerpt (louder, with titles)
OTHER PRODUCTIONS
	Various trailers	* Barcelona * Bucharest * Dutch National Opera * Madrid * Milan, La Scala * New York (current Met production by Simon Stone) * San Francisco
THE MAD SCENE
	From preview page	* Analysis (pyschologist Graeme Yorston) * Lisette Oropesa (with Michele Mariotti)
	Featuring Glass Harmonica	* Pretty Yende coaching (includes glass harmonica) * Nadine Sierra (performance in Venice)
	Diana Damrau	* In recording studio * 2015 production in Munich
	Historical importance	* Joan Sutherland (Sydney farewell, 1986) * Lili Pons (in Hitting a High Note)


IMAGES
The thumbnails below cover the slides shown in class, though there may be a few small discrepancies. Click the thumbnail to see a larger image. Click on the right or left of the larger picture to go forward or back, or outside it to close.