Lucia di Lammermoor

Fugitive ghosts and a bitter feud between two families form the background to Donizetti’s mesmerising Gothic tale of madness and forced marriage, Lucia di Lammermoor. Donizetti’s adaption of Sir Walter Scott’s Gothic novel of feuding families, The Bride of Lammermoor, has mesmerised audiences since its premiere in 1838.

Where Scott’s heroine Lucy Ashton has but one line of dialogue, Donizetti’s Lucia is given voice and character in two of the greatest bel canto arias, first narrating the legend of the ghost of a girl murdered by one of the Ravenswood family, then spiralling into fantasy in the famous Mad Scene that follows her forced marriage to a man she does not love.

Lucia’s story, together with the darkness and luminescence of Donizetti’s music, captivated the imaginations of authors including Flaubert, Tolstoy and Forster, and continues to cast a spell.

Coloratura soprano Jennifer France (Vixen in The Cunning Little Vixen, 2021, Zerbinetta in Ariadne auf Naxos, 2018) makes her role debut as Lucia in Cecilia Stinton’s new production, the first staging of Lucia di Lammermoor at Opera Holland Park since 2012, with designs by Neil Irish.

Tenor José de Eça and baritone Morgan Pearse, who made stunning company debuts as Cavaradossi and Scarpia in the 2024 revival of Tosca, return in the tragic roles of Edgardo and Enrico, de facto heads of two warring families. Former Opera Holland Park Young Artists Ellen Pearson and Blaise Malaba take the roles of Alisa and Raimondo, with Joseph Buckmaster and David Webb as Arturo and Normanno.

Michael Papadopoulos (Acis and Galatea, 2024) conducts the City of London Sinfonia and Opera Holland Park Chorus in this iconic bel canto tragedy.