Katie Mitchell’s production of Donizetti’s opera is revived at the Royal Opera House. But what have critics had to say about it?
The Guardian: **** “all ears as well as eyes are on Lisette Oropesa. Lucia is her first Royal Opera role, and the Cuban American soprano is sensationally good.”
The Stage: ***** “Audiences for this revival will be rewarded by a musical and dramatic triumph that fuses the elements of a gripping and realistic TV drama with gobbets of gothic melodrama.”
The Times: **** “The image of the bride of the Lammermoor after she has murdered her new husband has a special resonance at Covent Garden: you think Joan Sutherland; white dress; Hallowe’en blood spatters; a faraway look in her eyes.”
WhatsOnStage: **** “What a pleasure it was to hear this opera conducted in a way that painted its colours and explored its dimensions. Michele Mariotti’s loving account with the ROH Orchestra raised Lucia di Lammermoor from the level of a lurid potboiler to something approaching greatness. Which is where it belongs.”
The Arts Desk: “Michele Mariotti conducts with an innate sense of the bel canto style, never hurrying the singers but always maintaining the flow and dramatic tension.”
Evening Standard: **** “Lisette Oropesa, making her Royal Opera debut, is a revelation as Lucia. She acts with conviction, hits the notes dead centre and controls the dynamics.”
Culture Whisper: **** “As Lucia in this handsome and intelligent production, the birdlike American-Cuban soprano Lisette Oropesa, bubbly and light-hearted in Glyndebourne Festival Opera’s Don Pasquale this summer, now conveys both aching fragility and determination, powering up to those famous high notes with the accuracy of a swift.”
Bachtrack: **** “The revival benefited from a much stronger lead in the pit. Michele Mariotti clearly savoured the score, bringing depth and at times, visceral energy.”
Lucia di Lammermoor continues to play at the Royal Opera House until the 27th November. To book tickets visit: Ticketmaster.co.uk, Discount Theatre.com, Love London Love Culture, See Tickets.com, Love Theatre.com and Theatre People.com .