The Power of the Female in Lucia di Lammermoor (The Royal Opera)

Lucia di Lammermoor is Donizetti s tragic masterpiece. The opera marked the beginning of his partnership with librettist Salvadore Cammarano – who, as was the fashion of the day, looked to Walter Scott. Find out more: http://www.roh.org.uk/productions/lucia-di-lammermoor-by-katie-mitchell Cammarano’s adaptation of Scott’s novel The Bride of Lammermoor moved Donizetti greatly, and in the subsequent score he produced not only some of his most beautiful but also his most dramatically potent music. Within a few years of its premiere in Naples on 26 September 1835 Lucia had entered the international repertory. Here it has remained, despite a practice in the 19th and 20th centuries to make cuts that obscured Donizetti’s deft handling of his ensemble cast, with a consequent impact on the opera’s brilliant dramatic pacing.