Lucia di Lammermoor
English National Opera, in rep until 26 February
When David Alden’s production of Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor was first staged by ENO two years ago it was so beset by cast illnesses that it was difficult to tell to what extent the director’s intentions were executed. Even so, the musical side of things, under Paul Daniel, was admirable. But in this first revival it was clear from the start that both musically and dramatically everything had been prepared with great care, and that, however one might react to the peculiar interpretation which Alden has imposed on it, there would be no doubt that we were seeing a carefully thought-out reading of a work which has often been treated as a mere vehicle for a coloratura soprano, with a great ensemble at its centre, but no serious dramatic weight.
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