Lucia di Lammermoor
Bloodless but Heartfelt
Lucia di Lammermoor
by Gaetano Donizetti, libretto by Salvatore Cammarano
Barefoot Operaat the Arcola Theatre, Dalston until 13thSeptember and then on tour until 5th October
Review by Patrick Shorrock
Barefoot Opera shows it means business right from the start by beginning not with Donizetti’s prelude, but with Lucia’s mother singing a gloomy Scottish ballad about women being doomed to suffer at the hands of men, before the score proper starts.
The musical arrangement works really well at conveying the colour of Donizetti’s score, with a band comprising saxophone, accordion, double bass and piano – plus, on occasion, a xylophone that is also used to convey the sound of a glass harmonica by scraping a violin bow across the edge. This makes for a wonderfully spooky mad scene and is much better than the flute that used to be popular last century. I’m glad that reverting to the glass harmonica that Donizetti had in mind has now become fashionable again in the opera house. The care taken with this arrangement, where every musical choice seems to have been thought about thoroughly, was admirable and refreshing. I remember a production of the Coronation of Poppea at the King’s Head Islington that also made good use of a saxophone, which really is the arranger’s friend when it comes to reduced orchestration.
Barefoot Opera field some rather impressive singers, some of whom multitask by playing instruments and providing the chorus. Beren Fidan in the leading role of Lucia, has the rich gift of making the music mean something dramatically and is fluent in the coloratura. But, as any Callas devotee knows, even in bel canto the voice can veer a little too much towards the drama, and it is important not to overdo it. Moreover, the Arcola’s acoustic does tend to wither the bloom on some voices. Laurence Panter keeps things nicely on the move – not easy when you are also playing Normanno – and is effective in discouraging the cast from over singing.
Jack Dolan has a fine strong tenor. His final scene – as much a show-piece for tenor as the mad scene is for soprano – is magnificent and provides an unmistakable operatic thrill that is doubly impressive in this difficult space and shows real sensitivity: this part really does benefit from all the musical refinement that a tenor can bring to it. I look forward to hearing him again.
Alastair Sutherland, who also plays accordion, makes a smarmy and ineffectual cleric with a well-used voice. Eamonn Walsh as Arturo the murdered bridegroom is as much a cypher as usual, albeit with an odd costume, but he contributes well to the famous sextet. Philip Smith provides a nasty Enrico although he forces his voice sometimes and Deidre Arratoon has a nice deep contralto as “Aliso” – although it was not quite clear why her gender had been changed from Alisa, other than to increase the sense of Lucia’s female isolation.
I’m slightly ambivalent about Rosie Kat’s production and its contemporary setting. Much is effective. A lot of whisky gets drunk . . . and is used by Lucia and Enrico to wash down tranquillisers. Edgardo commits suicide by overdosing on pills rather than stabbing himself. Lucia provides a picnic by the fountain for Edgardo, with a hamper and a Gingham picnic rug like a Bonne Maman jar. The cast act with impressive conviction. I don’t really have a problem with a plot that requires intercepted letters being set in an era with mobile phones – who knows what the Wi-Fi cover is like in the depths of rural Scotland? And I agree that pressure on women to meet men’s needs – and the damage that causes – is very much still with us and not an exclusively 19th Century thing.
But the avoidance of Gothic horror does create problems. It is hard to see this Lucia as having killed anyone, when her white nightdress remains pristine without bloodstains. Whilst this saves on laundry bills and avoids cliché, it does neutralise the horror that we are supposed to feel at Lucia’s having turned the violence she has experienced herself onto her bridegroom. The production is stronger at conveying how all the men in Lucia’s life – not just her awful brother, but her lover and her pastor as well — apply unreasonable pressure on her, but still I find myself with more questions than answers. What is the significance of the white neon tubing that Lucia regularly plays with? Why do all the men wear women’s hats for the wedding? Why is Arturo wearing a skirt – in no way could it be described as a kilt – and a very camp florally decorated jacket? Why is Lucia present, smiling with amusement at these weak, preposterous, blustering men, when she is meant to be absent and will shortly be emotionally blackmailed into signing the marriage contract?
This production is an impressive achievement. Lucia di Lammermoor is a tricky opera to stage and it’s really important to congratulate Barefoot on the solid well-considered musical foundations that enable it to make an impressive impact.
Patrick Shorrock, September 2025
Image courtesy of Barefoot Opera
Mark Aspen 