Love, delusion & death

It took him just two weeks to write his first opera at a young age. A pace that was also characteristic of the prolific composer later on. We are talking about Gaetano Donizetti, the third of the bel canto triumvirate Rossini-Donizetti-Bellini - creator of great musical dramas, immortal comedies, also acclaimed, honored and never forgotten in Vienna. A central work of his broad oeuvre is now returning to the Vienna State Opera: »Lucia di Lammermoor«. Revived and recast in the main roles.

Bergamo. A narrow alley, an inconspicuous house still standing today, stairs leading down to the poor basement. Down there, in the shadows, Donizetti was born. He later recalls with trepidation the cellar steps and the low-lying dwelling, which »no glimmer of light ever reached«. It was fortunate that the gifted composer came across the Bavarian composer and teacher Simon Mayr, who selflessly taught, encouraged and supported him. And it is just as fortunate that Bergamo is a theater and opera city, that two houses perform musical theater at the same time - so it is easy to see the practical side.

He studied at a music school in his home town, moved to Bologna and wrote early works. in 1816, he wrote the aforementioned first opera (which, however, remained in a drawer for centuries); two years later, a Donizetti opera was premiered for the first time - in Venice, one of the centers of opera. The road to success opened up: Mantua, Rome, Naples, Milan; music directorships in Palermo and Naples. Then, in 1830, Donizetti made his breakthrough as a composer by writing Anna Bolena. In 1834, he signed a contract for three operas with the royal Teatro San Carlo in Naples. The first of these works is »Lucia di Lammermoor«. Honors and private disasters follow: Paris lies at his feet, the French king names him a Knight of the Legion of Honor; his wife Virginia and his children die in quick succession.

Donizetti turns to Vienna - and Vienna to Donizetti. His »Linda di Chamounix« is premiered at the Kärntnertortheater, Emperor Ferdinand I appoints him Court Kapellmeister and the composer becomes an idolized darling of the public. He was almost childishly happy to receive an opulent uniform as an »official«. But he does not have many years left to live: Within a short time, Donizetti falls into a state of madness - caused by syphilis? - Within a short space of time, Donizetti falls into madness - caused by syphilis - is admitted to a mental hospital and finally brought back to his hometown as a hopeless case, where he dies in 1848.

»Lucia di Lammermoor«, written in around six weeks, is considered one of the key works of Italian Romanticism. The subject matter could, of course, be assumed to be familiar to audiences at the time. Based on Sir Walter Scott's novel »The Bride of Lammermoor«, Donizetti's work was by no means the first opera to tell the tragic story of Lucia. Although hardly anyone beyond the musicological lecture hall is still familiar with the previous operas today, they show how much the subject matter appealed to the tastes of audiences at the time. And not only this subject matter: a variety of Scott's material found its way into the operatic canon of the time - Rossini set his novels to music, as did Boieldieu and Aubert.

As far as the content of the opera is concerned, this can be told quickly - with the help of George Bernard Shaw's succinct description of the opera:
»Opera is when a tenor and soprano want to make love, but are prevented from doing so by a baritone«.

So let's break it down: The soprano is Lucia, the tenor Edgardo, the baritone her brother Enrico. Lucia and Edgardo come from feuding families; her brother wants her to marry the influential Lord Arturo. Her - reciprocated - love belongs, how could it be otherwise, to Edgardo. When he goes away, the secret relationship has to be continued via letters - which, as we know, is particularly prone to intrigue in operas. This is exactly what happens: Lucia is finally married to Arturo, Enrico believes he has been betrayed, and in her madness she kills her husband on their wedding night and dies - as does Edgardo, who hopes for a reunion in the afterlife.

The very first bars of the opera, ominous and muffled, promise the disaster of the plot to come. You quickly realize that this time there will be no lieto fine, i.e. a happy ending. The central point - and known far beyond the borders of the regular audience - is of course Lucia's mad scene. It is introduced by the story of Lucia's confidant Raimondo, who comes out of the bridal chamber in horror. There he has seen the murdered Arturo - and Lucia: delirious, still holding the bloody weapon. Bewilderment spreads before a strange, ethereal sound floats across the room. It is the glass harmonica that accompanies the now appearing Lucia and enters into a dialog with her.

The irrational makes its way; coloratura garlands and the hollow, silvery sound of the instruments point beyond the tangible world - almost no words are needed to show the rapture. Lucia now dominates the stage for almost a quarter of an hour, believing she is with her lover Edgardo and with him in the church for the wedding. Those present are left breathless: it is not so much the murder that horrifies as the lamentable woman herself, who, oppressed and tormented, has no other freedom than the hopeless path to madness.

What Donizetti has poured into music here is a psychogram and a theatrical effect, social criticism and a touching play all in one - but above all a bravura vocal performance. And while there are opera aficionados who get goosebumps at a protracted Wagnerian Wälse call or at Rodolfo's final Mimì despair, a large group of bel canto fans swear by precisely this immortal scene of madness. So it is no wonder that "Lucia di Lammermoor" is quoted time and again in Hollywood - for example in Luc Besson's »The Fifth Element« or in »The House of Lady Alquist« with Ingrid Bergman.

It was the fate of the bel canto masters to be quickly forgotten - although not completely. Rossini's »Barber of Seville« remained an evergreen on the repertoire, as did Donizetti's »Lucia di Lammermoor«.

Especially in Vienna, where Donizetti - as mentioned - had a special place in his heart; it was not for nothing that Richard Wagner once referred to Vienna as the »Donizetti city«. After the opera appeared here at the Kärntnertortheater just two years after its premiere in Naples (as its first stop outside Italy), other venues soon followed, such as the Theater an der Wien, the Harmonietheater, the Colosseumtheater, the Carltheater, the Strampfertheater and the Ringtheater.

Not even a year after its opening in 1869, the work was performed regularly until the first third of the 20th century, then occasionally and again extremely regularly from the late 1970s onwards.

Yes, »Lucia di Lammermoor« is first and foremost an opera for singers. This was already the case at the premiere, when Fanny Tacchinardi-Persiani (a later Vienna Court Opera chamber singer!) shone in the title role and was so influential that Lucia's first aria (Regnava nel silenzio) was replaced by an older (Donizetti) aria at her request.

The Lucia role was a legend when Bianca Bianchi sang it 35 times at the Vienna Opera, when Selma Kurz, Adelina Patti, Anna Netrebko, Lisette Oropesa or Diana Damrau sang it here - and especially when Edita Gruberova appeared on stage 89 times in the role, by far the leading Viennese Lucia in terms of numbers.

Of course, the three Lucia evenings that were Maria Callas' only state opera appearances have also gone down in opera history: a guest performance at La Scala in Milan in 1956, with Herbert von Karajan conducting.

The current production was staged by Laurent Pelly at the Vienna State Opera in 2019. With its clear colors, he based his concept on Jean Epstein's silent film classic »La Chute de la maison Usher« (The Fall of the House of Usher after Edgar Allan Poe), among other things: One experiences an oscillation between a real and a surreal world, between nightmare and tragedy.

»The music of »Lucia di Lammermoor« repeatedly spreads overcast moods that alternate between light and dark - just like this film. So much remains in limbo: What is actually happening, and what is just an overdriven figment of the characters' imagination? Is it a nightmare, and if so, is it Lucia's nightmare or Enrico's nightmare?« says Pelly.

Pelly places a particular focus on Lucia's mental breakdown, which is not only triggered by the wedding trauma, but seems to be a family trait - Enrico also suffers from mental instability. But it is also about the instrumentalization of the young woman, who is supposed to »benefit« her family. Pelly: »For me, Lucia is by no means the pretty naive girl, but a strange, unloved young woman who is locked away from the general public and only brought out by her brother for strategic power and economic reasons.«

The unfortunate woman is sung by Adela Zaharia - a singer who made her Staatsoper debut as Donna Anna in »Don Giovanni« at the end of October. Bekhzod Davronov (Edgardo) can be heard in this role for the first time in the Haus am Ring, Mattia Olivieri sings Enrico.