The 1891 Fredonia Opera House will screen Gaetano Donizetti's bel canto tragedy Lucia di Lammermoor as part of its Live at the Met Summer Encore Series on Thursday at 6:30 p.m.
"We're very excited to be presenting encore broadcasts of six of the Metropolitan Opera's classic Live in HD transmissions," Opera House Executive Director Rick Davis said. "These six summer operas offer a great way for opera buffs to relive some of the Met's best-loved productions from the past few seasons. They also provide a great way for people who don't know how they feel about opera to give the genre a try."
Lucia di Lammermoor, Donizetti's most famous opera, is set in the craggy moors of Scotland, where two men control the destiny of Lucia, of Lammermoor Castle. Her brother Enrico, in order to further his own political ambitions, demands that she marry a stranger, while Edgardo, the man she secretly loves, too easily believes that she is unfaithful. As she is pulled apart by these opposing forces, the fragile Lucia is driven insane, with violent results.
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Soprano Anna Netrebko sings the title role in Gaetano Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor. This classic bel canto tragedy, and Donizetti’s most famous opera, contains Lucia’s “mad scene,” one of opera’s most technically and expressively difficult coloratura arias. This Live at the Met encore will be screened in high definition at the 1891 Fredonia Opera House on Thursday starting at 6:30 p.m.
Lucia's "mad scene," the aria Il dolce suonoSpargi d'amaro pianto, has historically been a vehicle for several coloratura sopranos (providing a breakthrough for Dame Joan Sutherland) and is a technically and expressively demanding piece.
Anna Netrebko sings the title role in her Met role debut, with Piotr Beczala as her lover, Edgardo. Mariusz Kwiecien is her tyrannical brother. Mary Zimmerman's hit production, first seen in 2007, is staged as a Victorian ghost story. Marco Armiliato conducts.
Live at the Met live opera broadcasts and Summer Encore screenings are made possible by Dr. James M. and Marcia Merrins, who funded the purchase of the satellite transmission and projection equipment used in the series. Support for the series also comes from the United Arts Appeal of Chautauqua County. Opera House media partners are WDOE-AM and Kix Country 96-FM radio, in Dunkirk.
Tickets to the Live at the Met Summer Encore Series operas are $15 and are available in advance by calling (716)679-1891 or visiting the Box Office Tuesday through Friday, between 1 and 5 p.m. They also may be purchased online anytime at www.fredopera.org. The Live at the Met Encore Series concludes with Strauss' Der Rosenkavalier on July 26.
Chautauqua County's only performing arts center presenting its own programming year-round, the 1891 Fredonia Opera House is a member-supported not-for-profit organization located in the village hall in downtown Fredonia. For a complete schedule of events, visit www.fredopera.org.
