Break 15:00–16:00
Break 15:00–16:00
Lucia di Lammermoor
The St. Petersburg Opera offers the audience a modern interpretation of the Gothic drama and opera by Gaetano Donizetti.
The St. Petersburg Opera offers the audience a modern interpretation of the Gothic drama and opera by Gaetano Donizetti. The action of the play is transferred to the present day. The main character escapes from the corrupted “well-fed” office life where all this brightness and luster merely hide her loneliness and pain, into the “gothic” world. “We turn to Donizetti’s works when we feel a lack of human intonation in the world around us, which we find both in the composer’s comic operas and in his musical dramas. The production of Lucia di Lammermoor is a test of the highest professionalism. It is difficult not only to sing this opera by Donizetti, but also to fill it with new content,” says the director of the play, Yuri Alexandrov.
Act I
For a long time, two families were at odds with each other – the Ravenswoods and the Ashtons. For one of them, the strife ended in failure. The entire Ravenswood family has been destroyed. Only Edgardo di Ravenswood survived. Normanno, Enrico Ashton’s chief of security, orders his men to search the area. Rumor has it that Edgardo promised to take revenge on the offenders. Enrico is scared. His anxiety is compounded by the family’s upset financial affairs. He can only strengthen his position if his sister Lucia marries Arturo Bucklaw. This marriage will bring the Ashtons a great fortune and the patronage of the ruling party. Lucia refuses to marry. Enrico goes wild. The girl’s teacher, Raimondo, persuades him not to get angry, because Lucia recently lost her beloved mother. Normanno reveals to Enrico the true reason for his troubles. Lucia is in love with Edgardo Ravenswood. Enrico is shocked, he is overwhelmed with a thirst for revenge.
Lucia is waiting for Edgardo. Her friend, Alisa, convinces Lucia to give up her dangerous love. Lucia tells Alisa that she is dreaming of a fountain in which one of the Ravenswoods killed his mistress in a fit of jealousy. She even sees the ghost of the unfortunate woman, who calls her... Edgardo comes. Tonight he must leave to France, but before that he decided to make peace with his enemy, Lucia’s brother, and ask her hand in marriage as a sign of reconciliation. Lucia persuades Edgardo to keep their love as a secret for a while. Swearing allegiance to each other, the lovers exchange rings.
Enrico forces Lucia to marry Arturo Bucklaw. In vain are the pleas and tears of the unfortunate girl. Lucia decides to tell her brother that she took an oath to Edgardo. Enrico shows her a fake letter, testifying to the infidelity of her lover... Lucia is in despair. She asks Raimondo to help her, but he only confirms Enrico’s words. He begs the girl to come to terms and sacrifice herself for the welfare of the family.
Act II
Guests gathered for the wedding at the Ashton’s house. They cheerfully greet the groom. Arturo assures Enrico of his friendship. Enrico asks Arturo not to pay attention to the unhappy appearance of the bride, because she recently buried her mother. Lucia enters. Arturo gallantly presents her flowers. Enrico is in a hurry to close the deal. The deathly pale Lucia in a semi-swooning state almost unconsciously signs a marriage contract. Edgardo’s sudden appearance confuses those present. The crowd is confused. Edgardo rushes to Lucia. Enrico and Arturo roughly attack him: “Get out, madman, or your blood will be shed!” Raimondo tries to reconcile mortal enemies. Edgardo sees only one thing – a signed marriage contract, proof of the infidelity of his beloved. He accuses Lucia of treason and rips off the ring from her finger, a guarantee of their love and betrothal. The girl tries to justify herself. Arturo unceremoniously takes Lucia into the bedroom. Edgardo runs away in despair.
The guests continue to celebrate the wedding. Sudden appearance of Raimondo interrupts the celebration. He says that a tragedy happened: Lucia killed her husband. The guests are terrified. Lucia enters, a strange smile twisting her face. She has lost her mind, it seems to her that she is still Edgardo’s fiancee. Then, terrible pictures of reality reappear in her mind. The poor woman dreams of death and asks God to unite her with her beloved in heaven. Enrico is tormented by remorse. He tells Alisa and Raimondo to look after the crazy Lucia. Raimondo blames Normanno for all the misfortunes that happened through his fault ...
Edgardo forgot about revenge. He suffers: “The whole world is empty, orphaned, if Lucia is not with me.” Upon learning of Arturo’s murder, Edgardo wants to flee to the Ashton house to see his beloved one last time. Raimondo stops him. He informs the young man that Lucia is dead. Desperate, Edgardo follows his beloved.
