Amanda Hall as Lucia and Luigi Boccia as Edgardo in Opera
Theater of Connecticut’s production of Lucia di Lammermoor. photo credit: Alan Casavant
When you think of feuding families and forbidden love, the
first names to come to mind might well be Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare’s most
famous star-crossed lovers. But
they are clearly not the only pair in history to endure parental disapproval
and family problems.
Consider an emotionally fragile young girl Lucia whose clan
has a long standing disagreement with the Ravenwoods, in the hills of Scotland
in the 17th century. Lucia is in love with Edgardo, but her family hates
his and forbids the union. They
have been meeting secretly in her castle but the captain of the castle guard,
Normanno, suspects the pair of trysting and informs her brother Enrico. Meanwhile the couple defiantly take vows
and exchange rings.
Because the family’s fortunes are waning, Enrico has pledged
Lucia, against her will, to Arturo to restore their wealth and power. For political reasons, Edgardo is
forced to leave Scotland to go to France and in his absence Enrico shows Lucia
a letter he has forged proving Edgardo has taken a new lover.
Lucia sees a ghost warning of death, Edgardo returns and is
challenged to a duel, Lucia is forced to wed Arturo and goes mad, Enrico
realizes the tragedy that his actions have caused and both Lucia and Edgardo are
reunited in death, much as Romeo and Juliet were.
To be caught up in the drama and tragedy in this
spellbinding opera penned by Gaetano Donizetti in 1835, plan to attend the
sterling production of “Lucia di Lammermoor” being staged by Opera Theater of
Connecticut at the air-conditioned
Andrews Memorial Theater, 54 East Main Street, Clinton on Tuesday,
August 7, Thursday, August 9, Saturday, August 11 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday,
August 12 at 6 p.m. Opening night
will include a gala reception.
Come hear the soaring score as coloratura soprano Amanda Hall
as Lucia, tenor Luigi Boccia as her lover Edgardo struggle against the will
of David Pershall, baritone, as the forceful brother Enrico who wants Lucia to
marry Arturo, tenor Michael-Paul Krubitzer. The interfering head of the castle guards Normanno, tenor
Jorge Prego, starts the confrontation while Lucia’s maid Alicia, mezzo-soprano
Karolina Wojteczko, only wants to help her lady be happy. Even Lucia’s chaplain and tutor
Raimondo, bass Daniel Hague, is unable to persuade her to renounce her vows to
Edgardo. The opera will be sung in Italian with Supertitles to enhance
understanding and enjoyment.
Opera Theater of Connecticut was founded in 1986 to help professional artists hone their
craft and to encourage the public to experience high quality productions
affordably and intimately. To that
end, Artistic Director Alan Mann personally conducts Opera Talk, an informal,
informative talk about that evening’s opera and composer, one hour and a half
before the performance ($5.00). In 1989, when Alan Mann
first produced this stirring opera, he received a card from the famed
maestro Richard Bonynge and Dame Joan Sutherland that "Lucia di
Lammermoor" was "an opera that never fails to please" and now, more than
three decades later, Alan Mann "agrees totally" with that
pronouncement.
For tickets ($40, seniors $38, under 18 $34),
call Opera
Theater of Connecticut at 860-669-8999 or online at
www.operatheaterofct.info. Boxed suppers Al Fresco Style from Chips Pub
III can be pre-ordered for
$15 two days in advance by calling 860-669-8999.
Let Donizetti’s tragic gothic psychological thriller take
you on a spectacular ride to the moors of Scotland where feuding families drive
their loved ones to madness, murder and suicide.
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