LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR
cape town opera . artscape opera house & joburg theatre mandela stage . 2024
Donizetti’s masterpiece blends haunting melodies with a tragic narrative, where themes of familial loyalty, unrequited love, and the destructive force of power struggles lead to the ultimate breakdown of its heroine, Lucia. The opera’s juxtaposition of beauty and tragedy is expressed through Donizetti's lush, sweeping orchestration and the exquisite arias, duets, and ensembles that convey the inner turmoil of the characters, especially Lucia, whose vulnerability and subsequent madness make her one of opera’s most tragic and captivating heroines.
CREATIVE TEAM
conductor : Kamal Khan (CPT) & Daniel Keet (JHB)
direction : Angelo Gobatto
movement direction : Kirsten Isenberg
set & costume design : Michael Mitchell
projection design : Kirsti Cumming
lighting design : Oliver Hauser
production photography : Fiona MacPherson
REVIEWS
This production is visually massive. Aside from the full-blown set, it features excellent and imaginative video projections created by Kirstin Cumming. These help transform the stage into alternate spaces, including a forest, and are used to add information, too, such as when the coats of arms for feuding families are projected to help the audience navigate the complexities of the plot’s intrigue.
Keith Bain, Daily Maverick
Oliver Hauser’s evocative lighting and an array of projected images by Kirstin Cumming to complement a versatile set from veteran Michael Mitchell, render elaborate props superfluous. Symbolic crests of warring clans and recurring glimpses of inclement weather, as well as many shades of relentless grey, convey the unsettling atmosphere in which Lucia’s tragedy is played out.
Beverley Brommert, WeekendSpecial