Gradually going flat: Lucia di Lammermoor at Buxton Opera Festival

Among the great mad scenes available to an operatic soprano, Lucia di Lammermoor is a classic. The parade of blood-stained divas staggering across stages to Donizetti’s eerie, twirling melody includes some of the greatest in history, notably Callas herself. I should also admit a personal interest in the work: the novel that inspired it, The Bride of Lammermoor, is the work of a (very) distant ancestor of mine – Sir Walter Scott.

Unfortunately, despite some excellent singing, Buxton’s production drags and flattens all the time, prinicipally due to static acting and lengthy scene changes.

Click here to read my full review on Bachtrack.

The Bride of Lamermoor, Robert Scott Lauder, 1831; (c) Dundee Art Galleries and Museums Collection (Dundee City Council); Supplied by The Public Catalogue Foundation

The Bride of Lammermoor, Robert Scott Lauder, 1831; (c) Dundee Art Galleries and Museums Collection (Dundee City Council); Supplied by The Public Catalogue Foundation

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