Madison Opera's Lucia Di Lammermoor Hits all the High Notes
The prolific bel canto composer Gaetano Donizetti created 70 operas in total, but his mid-career piece, Lucia di Lammermoor is one of his most popular. The tale of rival families, star-crossed lovers, betrayal, and murder in a Scottish castle is based on a novel of the same name by Sir Walter Scott, with the generous influence of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. It endures today with spectacular passages for each of the main characters and a moody, melodramatic story set in the Highlands.
After an 18-month “intermission” the Madison Opera welcomed audiences back to live performances at Overture Center on November 5 and 7, with a beautiful production of Lucia, featuring an impressive cast of both local and national talent, including a stunning role debut for soprano Jeni Houser as the title character. The opera’s accomplished principals, exceptional orchestra led by John DeMain, and outsized production elements were a perfect reminder of all we had been missing during the months when COVID shuttered the theater.
With flowing blonde locks and a willowy silhouette, Houser created a delicate, fragile Lucia, her clear, elegant voice climbing and descending scales effortlessly as her passions swelled. She was vibrant and alive only in the presence of her lover Edgardo, played with urgency and charm by tenor Andres Acosta. Every inch a hero in a dashing green cloak, his frenzied adoration pushed him across the stage, delighting audiences with a voice that was much bigger than he was.
Lucia was bullied into marriage with an important ally by her brusque, scheming brother Enrico, brought to life by Troy Cook and his robust baritone. She then morphed into a helpless pawn. Her blank, expressionless face was a sharp contrast to her sumptuous wedding finery, and even more haunting when she reemerged in a blood spattered chemise after stabbing her new husband to death. Like Hamlet’s Ophelia, her mad scene -- one of the undeniable highlights of the piece -- was done in a detached, dream-like state, making her murderous deeds even more chilling.
As Lucia’s conniving brother, who sabotaged her relationship with Edgardo and arranged a politically favorable match with Arturo instead (a serviceable Justin Kroll), Cook exuded a sinister, manipulative energy from his first entrance. Dwarfed by the enormous, slate gray, gothic castle, we feel the weight of his clan’s legacy bearing down as he struggles to prop up his family’s faltering position. With textured, sandpapery malice, Cook’s voice is as powerful as his resolve to force his will on his sister. Motivated by fear and a mutual lust for money and power, he is reluctantly counseled by the bishop Raimondo, the extraordinarily charismatic bass Kenneth Kellogg, whose deep, round voice resonated easily throughout the Overture Hall.
The much anticipated sextet did not disappoint, as characters were added to the piece two by two. Delightfully balanced, the principals’ voices were woven together like an elaborate tapestry. Other musical highlights included Houser’s extraordinarily delicate duet with a lone flute in the orchestra (Stephanie Jutt), and the impressive harp solo between the first two scenes by Johanna Weinholts.
Director Fenlon Lamb had more success staging smaller, intimate scenes than in animating the crowded party scene or orchestrating the large bands of soldiers who appeared at the beginning and end of the piece. The duet between Lucia and Edgardo was full of playful flourishes as the two pledged their eternal love to one another, scampering around a gothic, foggy garden. And exchanges between Enrico and Raimondo were filled with tension as the bishop descended a towering staircase on the interior of the castle. The enormous chorus of wedding guests, however, seemed plastered to the walls, punctuated by small outbursts of dance, drunkenness, and clumsy stage combat. While the 39 chorus members brought scale to the melodrama, they were most notable as distractions.
Although sopranos have long chafed at the structure of Lucia di Lammermoor, ending with Edgardo’s death scene instead of the title character’s descent into madness, the production benefits from Acosta’s passionate, clear-eyed realization of his love’s fidelity and his unending remorse. The fiery lover once again fills the stage with energy and emotion, ending the ghostly story of betrayal with a flourish instead of a dour dirge.
With this production, the Madison Opera is undeniably back. After a very long, quarantine-induced pause, Lucia delighted audiences with exceptional voices, musicians, and drama, celebrating the collaboration and community only found in live opera performances.