After a hiatus of 13 years, Lucia di Lammermoor returns to the repertoire of the Hungarian State Opera in a brand new production directed by Máté Szabó with Klára Kolonits and Erika Miklósa in the title role.
Lucia di Lammermoor is the very model of the Italian style of its era: the perfect embodiment of both the period preceding Bellini and Verdi and the melodic and sentimental Italian bel canto opera. Of Donizetti’s entire humongous 67-opera oeuvre, this is perhaps the one that occupies the most important position: although it is his comic operas that are played most often, the great humorist distilled into this opera the very best of his dramatic skill.
His music, just like the libretto by Cammarano, superbly reflects the passion and unearthly atmosphere of The Bride of Lammermoor, the novel that it is based on. In the early 19th century more than sixty operas were inspired by the works of Sir Walter Scott, because their atmosphere was especially appropriate for the sensitive and romantic souls of the era.
It took less than six weeks for Donizetti to complete his work, which was extremely successful at its premiere in Naples. "It has pleased me very much, if I can believe the applause and the compliments I have received. I was called out many times, and a great many times the singers, too. The king’s brother Leopoldo, who was present and applauded, paid me the most flattering compliments. The second evening every number was listened to in religious silence and spontaneously hailed with shouts of Evviva!"
Máté Szabó's production uses the original score, the personal preference of conductor Balázs Kocsár.
Premiere: 18 November 2016, 7 p.m. | Erkel Theatre
Further dates: 20, 24, 26, 27 November, 2, 3, 4 December 2016
