Based on Sir Walter Scott’s historical novel The Bride of Lammermoor, Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor of 1835, with a libretto by Salvadore Cammarano, is set in Scotland. The Ashton and Ravenswood families have a long-standing hatred of each other with the former family now owning the estate that previously belonged to the latter. The Ashtons have themselves fallen on hard times, however, leading the Master of Lammermoor Enrico to insist that his sister Lucia marry the...

Nadine Sierra was the big winner on the opening night of Manon. Her voice is at its best, splendid. The high notes are easy, well timbred, and brilliant. The dynamic control is of great quality and the projection of the singing, without being magnificent, is fully satisfactory. The exhaustive technical control of breathing and emission allows her to sing naturally and with and ease, without apparent physical effort and without dropping in performance over the course of a show lasting...

Liceu continues with safe bets for guaranteed box office sold outs. Last month we had La Bohème and now for the closing of the season arrives Lucia di Lammermoor. The great title by Donizetti was presented with a premium cast: Mexican tenor Javier Camarena as Edgardo and North American soprano Nadine Sierra as Lucia for her debut at the theatre. The production, from 2015, came from the Bayerische Staatsoper, signed by Polish actress and theatre director Barbara Wysocka. The...