The libretto is based upon Sir Walter Scott’s novel The Bride of Lammermoor. Scotland of the 18th century, two opposing houses, secret love affair, forged letter, interrupted wedding — and the Mad Scene for which Donizetti composed Il dolce suono, his showpiece aria.
Even someone who has never heard Lucia di Lammermoor knows this particular aria — it was performed by Diva Plavalaguna in the film The Fifth Element.
In the first Lucia’s production in Ekaterinburg, the action goes further back in history, to a time when Scotland consisted of several hundred clans, feuding in turns. The stage entourage matches the place and character of the action: cold coloring, rough texture — brutalism which has become fashionable, thanks to The Game of Thrones and other TV sagas. So do not be surprised that the wardrobe of the heroine lacks a white wedding gown which has become an attribute of Lucia’s stage image: the trend of wearing a white wedding dress started only in Donizetti’s time.
