English National Opera
19th February 2008
David Alden’s new production of Lucia di Lammermoor marks the first performances ever at ENO of what most would consider Donizetti’s best-known opera, even though L’elisir d’amore has recently been the most frequently performed in England. The reason why Lucia has taken so long to come to the Coliseum may be because it demands heavier voices than the Mozart, Handel, Britten, and, recently, operetta and musicals that figure so prominently in the Company’s core repertoire. Recent forays into bel canto have included a couple of runs of Rossini’s Il barbiere di Siviglia and two performances of Bellini’s I Capuleti e i Montecchi at the Barbican. There have been no Normas, Don Pasquales or even any Cenerentolas or, indeed, L’elisirs.
A production of Lucia di Lammermoor was, therefore, extremely welcome. But, as Hairy McMungo pointed out in his all-seeing (p)review, the roles of Lucia and Edgardo must be two of the most challenging roles in the bel canto repertory. There was little doubt that Barry Banks, one of our finest exponents of bel canto tenor roles, would be a fine Edgardo, but I had only come across the young American soprano Anna Christy once, as Papagena in a Metropolitan Opera broadcast of Die Zauberflote, and, whilst Mark Stone’s brilliance in Mozart and Puccini roles cannot be questioned, my knowledge of his bel canto skills was restricted to such relatively light works as Il barbiere and L’occasione fa il ladro.
There was no need for concern. Anna Christy is lighter-voiced than most Lucias, but the coloratura and tessitura are both well within her grasp, and her tone, along with her small stature, emphasises the fact that Lucia is little more than a child. I believe Walter Scott’s Lucy was seventeen years old; considering its setting, Donizetti’s Lucia could be even younger. Miss Christy’s Lucia seems to have a very thin grasp of reality from the start, but this is perhaps a result of the physical and even sexual abuse she appears to suffer at the hands of her brother. Her idealistic, loving nature shows what a delightful young lady she could have been in happier circumstances; it is tragic to see her under the control of her brother, her lover, and even the priest: pushed this way and that, and forced into compliance. Musically, Miss Christy’s performance is no less of a tour de force: she is effortlessly impressive all the way up to the top Es, and even top Fs.
Barry Banks is an excellent Edgardo. His music is scarcely less demanding than Lucia’s, and the physical demands, too, are considerable: Mr Banks does a lot of scrambling through windows, and spends much of his grand opening to Act Three rolling around on a flight of stairs, which must have been extremely uncomfortable. Mr Banks’ Edgardo is impetuous, and apparently not wholly mentally stable himself (in Hairy McMungo’s view this is inevitable, considering he had lost his fortune to Enrico), but he was very endearing for all that, and his love for Lucia could not be doubted.
The role of Lucia’s brother Enrico is probably a slight stretch for Mark Stone, as he seems naturally of an ideal vocal weight for Mozart’s baritone roles. He sounded perfectly comfortable with the role and with the Donizetti style, but I hope nevertheless that he is cautious about where and how often he sings this role. Mr Stone’s menacing Enrico was impressively characterised, and at times disturbing to watch – and it is very much to Mr Stone’s credit that his remorse following Lucia’s murder of Arturo was so believable and even sympathetic. When Enrico explains to Arturo before the wedding that Lucia is unhappy as a result of the death of their mother, this is generally seen as an attempt to hide the fact that Lucia’s grief is actually concerned with her marriage to Arturo. But genuine grief at their mother’s death might go some way towards explaining both her and her brother’s behaviour. In this production, both appear to be psychologically damaged.
Arturo has very little to do, but ENO Jerwood Young Singer Dwayne Jones, who sings Edgardo in the last few performances of this run, sang beautifully and suggested that Arturo was neither yet another villain nor simply a device to help demonstrate the extent of Lucia’s insanity: here, he is just yet another victim of the circumstances. Mr Jones is another for whom I feel slight concern: it seems early in his career to be taking on Edgardo, but there was certainly nothing in his performance as Arturo to suggest that Edgardo is beyond him. I suppose I should really stop fussing over matters that are really none of my business, and leave the singers and their teachers to make decisions about suitable repertoire.
Paul Whelan famously came to Clive Bayley’s rescue on opening night when Mr Bayley lost his voice early in the performance. Mr Whelan then sang from the side of the stage while the indisposed Mr Bayley mimed. At this performance, Mr Bayley was not recovered, but Mr Whelan was sufficiently familiar with the production to perform the complete role. His Raimondo was both sinister and chilling, and his attack on the unfortunate Normanno (Michael Colvin) was just another example of his cruelty. Mr Colvin’s Normanno seemed more an idle chatterer than someone with any real malicious intent. Sarah Pring completed the cast as a caring but helpless Alisa.
David Alden’s production seemed designed to emphasise not the thwarted romance between Lucia and Edgardo but the varying psychological problems experienced by many of the characters. It’s more comfortable to watch the opera if these horrors are only hinted at (or do not appear at all: the incestuous overtones are either Mr Alden’s own invention, or they have previously been subtle enough to escape my notice). But it is not a gratuitously unpleasant production. Everything has its, even those moments that seem, at first glance, so grotesque as to be unconvincing. Enrico’s placing Lucia on a bed, then swinging it around (an action that did not affect Miss Christy’s or Mr Stone’s singing), and Lucia’s mad scene’s apparently being set on a stage, with the rest of the cast as her audience, appeared as a disturbing reflection of the turbulence inside the minds of the characters.
Musically, the performance was of a very high standard: the only slight criticism that could be made of Paul Daniel’s command of the score was that there were moments at the start where the singers could not be heard over the orchestra, but this difficulty was quickly overcome, without any thinness of tone from the orchestra, who also produced some excellent storm effects in the third act. Most striking of all, however, was the glass harmonica that accompanied Lucia’s Mad Scene. Donizetti rewrote this part for solo flute following an incident in rehearsals, but the ENO chose to revert to his original plans. The sound of the glass harmonica is harsh; disturbing; in some ways unmusical. It will be interesting to see whether this instrument becomes less ghostly as it becomes more familiar, but, at present, it is a formidable addition to an already alarming scene.
Another triumph for English National Opera.
Barry Tone
primi-divi at hotmail.co.uk