CHICAGO (9/19/16) – Lyric Opera of Chicago presents the haunting love story of a woman in love, her betrayal, and her decent into madness in Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor this fall in a new-to-Chicago production with an all-star cast. Often described as a Scottish Romeo-and-Juliet-style tragedy, Lucia di Lammermoor opens on Saturday, October 15, with seven performances through November 6 at Lyric’s Civic Opera House, 20 N. Wacker Drive, Chicago. Tickets start at $34 and are available now at lyricopera.org/Lucia or at 312-827-5600.
In this most famous of all bel canto operas, Lucia Ashton (Albina Shagimuratova) and her family’s enemy, Edgardo of Ravenswood (Piotr Beczała), are secretly in love. They exchange rings and pledges of devotion before he leaves for France. Edgardo’s letters to Lucia are intercepted by her brother Enrico (Quinn Kelsey) and her tutor Raimondo (Adrian Sâmpetrean, Lyric debut). When Enrico produces forged “proof” of Edgardo’s infidelity, Lucia unhappily submits to a politically advantageous marriage to Arturo Bucklaw (Jonathan Johnson). Edgardo bursts in on the wedding and curses Lucia, causing her to go mad and kill her husband. In despair, Edgardo stabs himself. Lucia di Lammermoor is justly famous for the vocal fireworks of Lucia’s dazzling mad scene, with its spectacular coloratura singing.
Enrique Mazzola (Lyric debut) conducts the new-to-Chicago production, directed by Graham Vick and designed by Paul Brown, with lighting designed by Chris Maravich. Michael Black is chorus master.
“With singers the caliber of Albina Shagimuratova, Piotr Beczała, and Quinn Kelsey on hand, Lucia di Lammermoor guarantees a thrilling experience musically and dramatically,” says Anthony Freud, Lyric’s general director. “All three have triumphed at Lyric before, and it’s very exciting to be able to unite them for an opera in which they can shine both individually and together. With the debuts of two other important artists, bass Adrian Sâmpetrean and conductor Enrique Mazzola, the stage is set for a Lucia that will cause audiences to fall in love with this opera all over again – or for the very first time.”
Adds Lyric’s music director, Sir Andrew Davis, “There’s a reason why Lucia di Lammermoor is the most popular of all the great romantic operas of the bel canto era – the music is fabulous! With great arias for the major characters, the world-famous sextet, and of course, the stupendous mad scene, no audience can resist Lucia!”
About Lyric Opera of Chicago
Lyric Opera of Chicago’s mission is to express and promote the life-changing, transformational, revelatory power of great opera. Lyric exists to provide a broad, deep, and relevant cultural service to Chicago and the nation, and to advance the development of the art form.
Founded in 1954, Lyric is dedicated to producing and performing consistently thrilling, entertaining, and thought-provoking opera with a balanced repertoire of core classics, lesser-known masterpieces, and new works; to creating an innovative and wide-ranging program of community engagement and educational activities; and to developing exceptional emerging operatic talent.
Under the leadership of general director Anthony Freud, music director Sir Andrew Davis, and creative consultant Renée Fleming, Lyric strives to become The Great North American Opera Company for the 21st century: a globally significant arts organization embodying the core values of excellence, relevance, and fiscal responsibility.
To learn more about Lyric’s new season, go to lyricopera.org. You can also join the conversation with @LyricOpera on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. #Lyric1617 #LongLivePassion
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MEDIA INQUIRIES:
The Silverman Group, Inc.
Elizabeth Neukirch
elizabeth@silvermangroupchicago.com
312-932-9911
Lyric Opera
Holly H. Gilson
hgilson@lyricopera.org
312-827-5939
Magda Krance
mkrance@lyricopera.org
312-827-5924
Kamaria Morris
kmorris@lyricopera.org
312-827-5928
#LyricLucia
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Lyric Opera’s presentation of Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor is generously made possible by the NIB Foundation, Stefan Edlis and Gael Neeson, and Sylvia Neil and Daniel Fischel. Scenery realized by the Foundation of the Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino and Grand Théâtre de Genève.