Monday, July 30, 2012

OPERA THEATER OF CONNECTICUT PRESENTS STIRRING “LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR”

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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