Lucia di Lammermoor is a tragic opera in three acts by Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti. Salvadore Cammarano wrote the Italian-language libretto loosely based upon Walter Scott’s 1819 historical novel The Bride of Lammermoor. The story concerns the emotionally fragile Lucy Ashton (Lucia) who is caught in a feud between her own family and that of the Ravenswoods. The setting is the Lammermuir Hills of Scotland (Lammermoor) in the 17th century.
Donizetti wrote Lucia di Lammermoor in 1835, when he was reaching the peak of his reputation as an opera composer. Gioachino Rossini had recently retired and Vincenzo Bellini had died shortly before the premiere of Lucia leaving Donizetti as “the sole reigning genius of Italian opera”. Not only were conditions ripe for Donizetti’s success as a composer, but there was also a widespread interest in the history and culture of Scotland. The perceived romance of its violent wars and feuds, as well as its folklore and mythology, intrigued 19th century readers and audiences. Walter Scott dramatised these elements in his novel The Bride of Lammermoor, which inspired several musical works including Lucia.
The opera premiered on 26 September 1835 at the Teatro di San Carlo in Naples. However, John Black notes that “the surprising feature of its subsequent performance history is that it established so slowly in the Neapolitan repertoire”, noting that while there were 18 performances in the rest of 1835, there were only four in 1836, 16 in 1837, two in 1838, and continuing in this manner with only two in each of 1847 and 1848. London saw the opera on 5 April 1838 and, for Paris, Donizetti revised the score for a French version which debuted on 6 August 1839 at the Théâtre de la Renaissance in Paris. It reached the United States with a production in New Orleans on 28 May 1841.
The opera was never absent from the repertory of the Metropolitan Opera for more than one season at a time from 1903 until 1972. After World War II, a number of sopranos were instrumental in giving new life to the opera, including Maria Callas (with performances from 1954 at La Scala and Berlin in 1955 under Herbert von Karajan) and Joan Sutherland (with 1959 and 1960 performances at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden). It has remained a staple of the operatic repertoire. An aria from the opera, “Il dolce suono”, is mentioned in E.M. Forster’s Where Angels Fear to Tread. It is also featured in Luc Besson’s film The Fifth Element. The Act 2 sextet features prominently in Scorsese’s film The Departed.
The cabaletta “Spargi d’amaro pianto” following the more lyrical “Il dolce suono” from the “mad scene” (Act 3, Scene 2), has historically been a vehicle for several coloratura sopranos (providing a breakthrough for Dame Joan Sutherland) and is a technically and expressively demanding piece. Donizetti originally wrote it in F major, but it is often transposed down a tone (two half-steps) into E-flat. Sopranos, such as Katia Ricciarelli and Montserrat Caballé, have performed the scene in a come scritto (“as written”) fashion, adding minimal ornamentation to their interpretations (in the case of Caballé even performing the mad scene in its original F major). Most sopranos, however, add ornamentation to demonstrate their technical ability, as was the tradition in the bel canto period. This involves the addition and interpolation of trills, mordents, turns, runs and cadenzas. The original scoring of this scene was for glass harmonica and soprano. However, an adaptation for flute and the soprano soloist has been more commonly performed since, mostly for practical reasons.
