Royal Opera House, London
Katie Mitchell’s intelligent production of Donizetti’s opera – here on its first revival – takes plenty of worthwhile liberties, and soprano Lisette Oropesa as Lucia is sensational
Last April, Katie Mitchell was upfront about the “strong feminist agenda” she had for her new staging of Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor, and that was enough to provoke spluttering. A feminist agenda – for a work named after a character who defies the wishes of her family to choose her husband, commits murder, and finally kills herself rather than wait to die of a broken heart like any right-minded gothic heroine? Whatever next?
In its first revival, its direction honed slightly and with Michele Mariotti conducting with an ear wonderfully sensitive to balance and flow, the production is again striking – chiefly for its intelligence. The only really shocking thing is the amount of stage blood the Royal Opera will be getting through, what with Lucia’s miscarriage and Arturo’s murder.
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Source: Opera News from the UK Guardian
