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Lucia di Lammermoor returns to State Opera SA after 30 years featuring Australian and International Talent
State Opera South Australia brings back Donizetti's iconic opera Lucia di Lammermoor for the first time in 30 years, starring Emma Pearson.
For the first time in over 30 years and for only the second time in the company’s history, State Opera South Australia presents Donizetti’s infamous Lucia di Lammermoor.
Based on the novel by Sir Walter Scott, the story takes place in the Scottish Highlands. Fragile Lucia, caught between love and loyalty, is manipulated by the men around her. She is in love with Edgardo, her family’s sworn enemy. But her brother Enrico, determined to secure the family’s future, tricks her into marrying another wealthy man. Pushed to the limit, Lucia is driven to insanity and enacts her revenge in one of the most famous ‘mad scenes’ of the opera repertoire.
John Copley’s revered production, a piece of Australian operatic history first staged in the 1980s, is a celebration of Australian and international talent. Enhancing Artistic Director Dane Lam’s vision of bringing Australian stars back home to perform with international artists for local audiences, this is a rare staging of some of the opera world’s finest talent coming together for State Opera’s limited Adelaide season.
Emma Pearson is Lucia (the role that made Dame Joan Sutherland a star), a true singing actress who conveys emotional intent with exceptional clarity of voice; beloved Australian baritone Morgan Pearse returns to Adelaide after his turn in The Barber of Seville to play the unscrupulous Enrico; and Indian American tenor Alok Kumar makes his Australian debut as Edgardo, bringing incredible power, beauty of tone and assured technique to the role.
Spanish Conductor Lucía Marín, with a career working with some of the top orchestras and opera companies in Europe, leads the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra in her first appearance in Australia. Australian Director, Laura Hansford, leads the revival production breathing new life into the gothic Scottish tragedy.
With sprawling sets, lavish costumes and a romance to die for, Lucia di Lammermoor is grand opera at its most glorious.
Source: State Opera South Australia
