LIVE FROM THE METROPOLITAN OPERA {LIVE FROM THE MET}: LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR {PART 1 OF 2} (TV)
Summary
Part one of two. One in this series of operas televised from the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City. This opera, taped on November 13, 1982, stars Joan Sutherland and Alfredo Kraus as ill-fated lovers in seventeenth-century Scotland. Host Alexander Scourby opens the program by explaining that Sutherland she burst into stardom with her Metropolitan Opera debut as Lucia in 1961. He describes the vocal techniques required of bel canto opera and offers a brief synopsis of the first act, set on the misty moors of Scotland. As Act One begins, the Ashtons have almost annihilated a rival family, the Ravenswoods, and Lucia, who is grieving the death of her mother, has fallen in love with Edgardo Ravenswood, the mortal enemy of her brother Enrico. Enrico learns of the disastrous love affair and fears that it will destroy his whole household. Meanwhile, awaiting her lover in the garden, Lucia recites the legend "Regnava nel silenzio" to her confidant, Alisa, and claims to have seen the ghost of a woman who was murdered by a jealous lover. Edgardo arrives and announces that although he is sailing to France, he intends to ask Enrico's permission to marry her as a sign of peace, but Lucia begs him to keep their love a secret. They exchange rings and swear their eternal loyalty before God. The first act concludes with the duet "Quando rapita," and they vow to remember each other while apart. During the first intermission, Scourby offers a profile the Opera Guild founder, former actress Eleanor Robson, who was the first woman to be elected to the Metropolitan Opera's Board of Directors. In Act Two, Enrico wants Lucia to marry Arturo in order to form a political alliance that could help the ailing Ashton clan. Afraid that she will not consent, Normanno forges a letter from Edgardo, asserting he loves another woman: the letter breaks Lucia's heart and she agrees to marry Arturo. Edgardo returns from France and finds Lucia signing a marriage contract to Arturo; yet despite her apparent unfaithfulness, he still loves her. Lucia, Alisa, Edgardo, Enrico, Arturo, and Raimondo then sing the sextet, "Chi mi frena in tal momento," expressing their sentiments in this ordeal, and Edgardo returns to Lucia the ring that is a sign of their secret union. The second intermission features a biography of singer Marjorie Lawrence, who continued her career with the Metropolitan Opera despite polio. Continues with T86:1491.
(This opera is performed in Italian with English subtitles.)
Details
- NETWORK: PBS WNET New York, NY
- DATE: September 28, 1983 8:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 1:40:01
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: T86:1489
- GENRE: Music
- SUBJECT HEADING: Operas; Orchestral music
- SERIES RUN: PBS - TV series, 1977-
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Michael Bronson … Executive Producer
- Clemente D'Alessio … Producer
- Karen Adler … Associate Producer
- Kirk Browning … Director, For Television
- Bruce Donnell … Director, Staged by
- Alan Skog … Direction (Misc.), Associate Director
- Sir Walter Scott … Writer, Based on the novel "The Bride of Lammermoor" by
- Gerald Fitzgerald … Writer, For intermission feature, "The Met. . .The First 100 years"
- Salvatore Cammarano … Librettist
- Gaetano Donizetti … Composer
- Richard Bonynge … Conductor
- Metropolitan Opera Orchestra … Symphony Orchestra
- Metropolitan Opera Chorus … Choir/Chorus
- David Stivender … Choral Director
- Metropolitan Opera Ballet … Dance Company
- Alicia Markova … Choreographer
- Alexander Scourby … Host
- Peter Allen … Announcer
- Joan Sutherland … Cast, Lucia
- Alfredo Kraus … Cast, Edgardo
- Pablo Elvira … Cast, Lord Enrico Ashton
- Paul Plishka … Cast, Raimondo
- John Gilmore … Cast, Normanno
- Ariel Bybee … Cast, Alisa
- Jeffrey Stamm … Cast, Arturo
- Claude Hill … Instrumentalist, Harp Soloist
- Eleanor Robson Belmont
- Marjorie Lawrence