Lucia di Lammermoor at The Kennedy Center

Lucia di Lammermoor

The Kennedy Center
2700 F Street, NW Washington

In this psychologically gripping opera, Lucia relinquishes her sanity, killing her bridegroom and finally succumbing to madness in one of opera's most tragic and musically dramatic scenes.

Thru - Nov 19, 2011

Price: $25-$300

Show Type: Opera

Running Time: 2 hrs, 35 minutes with 1 intermission

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Lucia di Lammermoor Reviews

Average Rating based on 7 reviews

Highly Recommended
Recommended
Somewhat Recommended
Not Recommended

Washington Post - Somewhat Recommended

"... If someone could burnish off the rough bumps of pure silliness that always seems to infect good conceptual productions, Alden’s “Lucia” would be a formidable exercise. Strike out the scene in which Enrico ties his sister to a bedstead; get rid of the suggestion that Edgardo not only shoots himself at the end but gets strangled, too; and put some doors into the scenery flats so that the chorus doesn’t have to climb through windows. Focus, instead, on tightening entrances so that Edgardo’s wedding-crashing arrival at the end of Act II and Raimondo’s announcement in Act III that Lucia has lost her wits have the same dramatic power as Donizetti’s music.x

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- Philip Kennicott

Washington Examiner - Recommended

"... The moment the curtain rises on the Washington National Opera's "Lucia di Lammermoor" it's clear that Director David Alden's concept is unconventional and risky. But the risks pay off and, under Conductor Philippe Auguin, Gaetano Donizetti's opera is ultimately a success."

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- Barbara Mackay

Washington Times - Somewhat Recommended

"... The Washington National Opera’s new production of Gaetano Donizetti’s beloved Lucia di Lammermoor is both brilliant and maddening. It’s distinguished by its phenomenal soloists and a psychologically provocative, updated setting. But on opening night, both cast and crew were undermined, at least visually, by the production’s sepulchral lighting scheme. Also an issue: a chorus that tended to set its own breakneck and ignore the clear, sensible direction of WNO conductor and music director Philippe Auguin."

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- Terry Ponick

Washingtonian - Highly Recommended

"... Musically, the evening was so strong thanks to the company’s music director, Philippe Auguin, in the pit, navigating the many twists and turns of tempo adjustment necessary in this score to give the soloists the rhythmic space they need. The orchestra sounded in excellent form, in sync with one another and with their leader, and playing with confidence, from the Scotland-evoking horn calls to the extended harp solo in Act I. Some things improved from Thursday night to Saturday night: Set changes were quieter, and the chorus calmed its tendency to rush past Auguin’s beat."

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- Charles T. Downey

BrightestYoungThings - Highly Recommended

"... This gorgeous rendition of Lucia seems to be meditating on our capacity for passion amidst a reality that feels so consistently grey. For modern audiences, this is the tease of opera. Amidst our quietly content days of tapping at the keyboard and happy hour and power yoga, stories like Lucia make us recognize our capacity for broader strokes of emotion. Lucia's beautiful song is the hope at the end of the story, a reminder that we're all full of voices so much bigger than ourselves."

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- Ali Goldstein

MD Theatre Guide - Recommended

"... Conductor Philippe Auguin tended to favor broad, and occasionally plodding, tempos and struggled somewhat with balances. In the Act 2 sextet, Auguin sculpted a powerful crescendo with his orchestral forces but overwhelmed the mid-sized voices of his cast. The mad scene, however, was supported with great sensitivity and sustained tension."

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- Simon Chin

DCTheatreScene - Highly Recommended

If you came to pay homage to bask in its early romanticism, complete with Scottish mists and moors, you were in for a shock. Director David Alden has examined the work through the theme of the mid-nineteenth century view of mental illness and socio-sexual psychology. It’s both an electrifying and highly disturbing production. The singers threw themselves into the vocal and dramatic demands of both score and directorial vision to make the evening and the story revelatory.

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- Susan Galbraith

Lucia di Lammermoor at The Kennedy Center