Lucia di Lammermoor ROH 2024

[Timmie]

It was the ROH Diana Damrau recording of this production that got me into opera and, before I see it live for the first time, I have some questions if I may.

In another thread Geoff said that there had been some changes in the recent revivals, any more detail on this please?

The production has some split screen effects with a divider allowing different sets either side, does this mean there are any parts of the auditorium where views may be less good?

I’m booked to see Nadine Sierra but planning on getting another ticket. Any thoughts on Liv Redpath as Lucia? Or stick with another Nadine Sierra? I did like Sierra very much in L'elisir d'amore.

 

Edit: would it be helpful to read the book beforehand?

Edited March 18 by Timmie

[Geoff]

4 hours ago, Timmie said:

It was the ROH Diana Damrau recording of this production that got me into opera and, before I see it live for the first time, I have some questions if I may.

In another thread Geoff said that there had been some changes in the recent revivals, any more detail on this please?

The production has some split screen effects with a divider allowing different sets either side, does this mean there are any parts of the auditorium where views may be less good?

I’m booked to see Nadine Sierra but planning on getting another ticket. Any thoughts on Liv Redpath as Lucia? Or stick with another Nadine Sierra? I did like Sierra very much in L'elisir d'amore.

 

Edit: would it be helpful to read the book beforehand?

I love bel canto and so it is wonderful to hear it was this tremendous work that got you into opera @Timmie! The scenery is more or less the same, and actually pushes the action towards the front of the stage (which improves the acoustic) so I wouldn’t fuss about where you sit/stand in terms of sight lines. Best to choose somewhere where the sound is great, in case the voices are on top form (so perhaps best to avoid under the balcony overhang, for example).

 

The changes relate more to anti-operatic silliness, of which the most notorious example was a loud sound effect of water going into a bath during an entire aria. It will be me booing if they dare bring that back for this revival (it hasn’t been there for a while so I hope we’re safe). 
 

Just as with ballet, one can learn a lot from seeing different performers within a short period. So I would definitely go for a Redpath ticket (she comes recommended but I haven’t heard her). 
 

The book is not essential, and actually potentially confusing. But a good familiarity with the characters and the plot, as well as studying the music to the extent you are interested, will increase your enjoyment. And if you want a deep dive, there was a hilarious investigation on this very Forum some years ago about the history of women going mad while dressed in white, from which I learned a lot about performance traditions. 
 

Edited March 18 by Geoff

[Timmie]

Thanks Geoff. Definitely the bel canto in this that made me sit up and listen when it was on Sky Arts a few years back – I could not believe what I was hearing, and the cinematic production is very eye-catching, though not to everyone’s taste I guess.

I’m not sure if the sound of running water is a good idea anyway during a long opera, so good that’s gone. I’ll be watching the recording tonight so I’ll see if I notice the water on that. Studying the music is a bit out of scope for me but I do like to learn some of the key arias so I can enjoy without needing the surtitles.

I’ll get a Redpath ticket and maybe read the book later. Thanks for the tips, appreciated as ever.

[Lizbie1]

@Timmie - if you like bel canto and are up for a trip to Paris next year, you might like to consider I Puritani at the Paris Opera - the ugly Bastille "conference centre" alas, not the more scenic Garnier. It's a lovely opera and very well cast. I don't know anything about the production but I think there are video clips out there as it's not new. There's been something of a Bellini drought at ROH for some years so I don't know when we'll next see it there.

 

https://www.operadeparis.fr/en/season-24-25/opera/i-puritani

 

The most famous arias are probably Qui la voce (for the soprano) and A te o cara (quite possibly my favourite aria of all) for the tenor.

[JohnS]

I enjoyed today’s General Rehearsal despite a false alarm going off during Act 1 and a ten minute delay with the audience remaining in the theatre. Some hugely impressive singing, I noticed some changes to the production which I rather liked, and fabulous flute playing. I’m certainly looking forward to a full performance on 10th May so can say more then.

[Bluebird]

On 18/03/2024 at 16:50, Timmie said:

 

I’m booked to see Nadine Sierra but planning on getting another ticket. Any thoughts on Liv Redpath as Lucia? Or stick with another Nadine Sierra? I did like Sierra very much in L'elisir d'amore.

 

If you're going to get a second ticket, I can highly recommend Liv Redpath.  She sang in yesterday's Friends' General Rehearsal.  It was the first time I'd heard her sing and I was really impressed.  I felt she gave a superb performance and am delighted that I have a ticket for one of her shows. (I'll also be seeing Nadine Sierra).

[Sim]

I'm seeing Nadine Sierra on April 30th.  Have never heard her sing so am looking forward to it!

[Geoff]

Just out after the excellent first night. The crowd cheered: they definitely liked the show a lot, particularly Nadine Sierra, the tenor, the chorus and (dare one suggest) Donizetti energetically conducted. The production is no worse, actually better as simpler (though the interpolated miscarriage is still realistically bloody and extended). 
 

There were murmurs from cognoscenti that Sierra was a little slow and a little shrill in places, but she is admirably full voiced, particularly in comparison to the less experienced but spot on precise Liv Redpath, who I also enjoyed a lot at the dress rehearsal. To my great sadness I never had the chance to see Joan Sutherland in the role but was able to catch the supernatural voice of Gruberova as Lucia half a dozen times in her long career. For those who don’t know, put that name into YouTube and prepare to be amazed. 
 

Edited April 19 by Geoff

[MAB]

10 hours ago, Geoff said:

though the interpolated miscarriage is still realistically bloody and extended). 
 

 

A reason why so many opera goers I know are refusing to go.  Opera directors!  Put them in Room 101.

[Geoff]

13 minutes ago, MAB said:

 

A reason why so many opera goers I know are refusing to go.  Opera directors!  Put them in Room 101.

 

The design of the ROH means there are many useful "listening seats", which might be a good option for those who want to heed the company's printed warning of "blood and gore throughout". 

[MAB]

Yes, I know, I'm becoming increasingly familiar with them.

[Dawnstar]

I'm one of those people who is put off seeing this production by the blood. I don't see the point of getting a listening-only seat though. It's much easier & cheaper to listen to a CD or radio broadcast.

[Lizbie1]

14 minutes ago, Dawnstar said:

I'm one of those people who is put off seeing this production by the blood. I don't see the point of getting a listening-only seat though. It's much easier & cheaper to listen to a CD or radio broadcast.

 

Personally I find being there in person with unamplified music you get a completely different type of sound: it's a full-body thing, compared to recorded or amplified music, which only really "hits" my ears, unless it's overamplified in which case it's just unpleasant. I will compromise on a lot and spend a lot more money to get the former.

[Dawnstar]

For me the difference in sound is not enough to justify the difference in cost & travel time. But then I'm not an audiophile. For productions I do want to see I abandond the amphitheatre years ago in favour of the side stalls circle because I prioritise being able to see the acting over the sound quality.

[Geoff]

14 hours ago, Lizbie1 said:

Personally I find being there in person with unamplified music you get a completely different type of sound: it's a full-body thing, compared to recorded or amplified music, which only really "hits" my ears, unless it's overamplified in which case it's just unpleasant. I will compromise on a lot and spend a lot more money to get the former.

Spot on. The right music, performed right and experienced live has often shaken me to my core. More than once left me sobbing, shaking and wet faced. But that has never happened listening to a recording. 
 

Acoustics help in more than one way so I am usually at the front of the amphi or up in the slips. The ROH orchestra can be good but no one would claim they are reliably great (I often travel between the Vienna Philharmonic and the ROH and my ears tend to take a while to settle back to our band). But sitting in the right seats and hearing the orchestra conducted as they were on Friday (so much better than at the dress incidentally) is a worthy alternative. 

[Scheherezade]

I loved Friday’s Lucia and found Nadine Sierra’s performance rather thrilling, something I hadn’t expected as I was in two minds about her Adina back in the season.
 

Thought the rest of the cast were fabulous too but am still not a fan of the split stage, which I find both unnecessary and unnecessarily distracting, which is a shame since I can otherwise happily live with the sets. 

[alison]

On 20/04/2024 at 10:20, Geoff said:

"blood and gore throughout". 

 

While useful, that sort of vague warning is unlikely to be sufficiently helpful to anyone who has had the misfortune to suffer a miscarriage.

[Geoff]

On 20/04/2024 at 10:20, Geoff said:

 

The design of the ROH means there are many useful "listening seats", which might be a good option for those who want to heed the company's printed warning of "blood and gore throughout". 

I went back last night and thoroughly enjoyed my evening in the middle of Upper Slips DD. Sitting on the right hand side of the auditorium I was forced to miss the vomiting, most of the miscarriage and the long soak in the bath of blood. On the other hand I could see all the principals clearly for at least an aria each.

 

Sierra missed more than on Friday but the men seemed if anything even stronger. And the band shows no sign of slowing down, which is just great, at last idiomatic Italian conducting again at the ROH. 

[MAB]

1 hour ago, Geoff said:

the vomiting, most of the miscarriage and the long soak in the bath of blood

 

Sorry. but what kind of mind comes up with this stuff?

 

On a brighter note I thoroughly enjoyed Handel's Arianna in Creta at St George's, Hanover Square at the weekend.  I'm starting to find concert performances of operas more and more attractive, which is strange as in the past I never cared much for them.

[Geoff]

22 minutes ago, MAB said:

Sorry. but what kind of mind comes up with this stuff?

 

Katie Mitchell was, one understands, seen as brilliant while an undergraduate (Who's Who shows Magdalen College, University of Oxford). The record however states she studied English literature and language, rather than music, so it is perfectly possible she belongs to that category of director who believes staging opera is all about "the text". But opera is a musical form, which leaves many of those working these days adrift. 

 

Being able to read a score is not an absolute requirement. One of the most successful opera directors of the 20th century (no names, no names) could not read music and resisted any attempt to learn. But strong theatrical imagination linked to inherent musicality produced production after production which found great favour with audiences and critics alike, and which lasted decades in the repertoire. 

 

Katie Mitchell - but perhaps I do her a disservice - appears to have a bias to "action", "drama", "words"...i.e. the "text" - so presumably thinks what the orchestra is doing is merely an accompaniment to the important activity on the stage. This, I submit, is a misunderstanding of the particular art form.

 

By way of example, here are two moments from the current Lucia when Mitchell stages tone deaf interventions. The most famous section in the show is the "mad scene" and the second most famous is the glorious sextet, a masterpiece of condensed emotion, packed with meaning. But at the start of both of these most important sections of music, what happens on stage? Donizetti writes introductory music inviting us to settle and concentrate on what the orchestra and singers are doing, while Mitchell has ghosts climb clumsily in through windows at the side of the stage, as if we were in a comic production of "When Bel Canto Goes Wrong".

 

So in answer to your question, not someone who knows how to listen to music and respond to it intelligently.

[Timmie]

52 minutes ago, Geoff said:

 

...Katie Mitchell - but perhaps I do her a disservice - appears to have a bias to "action", "drama", "words"...i.e. the "text" - so presumably thinks what the orchestra is doing is merely an accompaniment to the important activity on the stage. This, I submit, is a misunderstanding of the particular art form...

 

...So in answer to your question, not someone who knows how to listen to music and respond to it intelligently...

 

Interesting comments Geoff, they probably sum up where I am in my operatic appreciation journey and why I enjoy Katie Mitchell’s productions 😄. I am happy though that this has got me into opera. (My first Carmen tonight and Lucia next week).

[Geoff]

31 minutes ago, Timmie said:

 

Interesting comments Geoff, they probably sum up where I am in my operatic appreciation journey and why I enjoy Katie Mitchell’s productions 😄. I am happy though that this has got me into opera. (My first Carmen tonight and Lucia next week).

Oh any way is good Timmie. I was riffing off @MAB discovering with experience that she now increasingly enjoys concert performances of opera, ie where there is next to no “production” or “staging” and it’s all about the music.
 

Iris Murdoch wrote in one of her novels, “I don’t know anything about music, I just like the noise it makes” and that’s a great start! Just keep experiencing all kinds of shows, I am sure you’ll get a lot from Carmen, have a good time. 

[MAB]

1 hour ago, Geoff said:

The record  however states she studied English literature and language

As Lucia is based on The Bride of Lammermore by Walter Scott, clearly Scottish literature wasn't part of the syllabus..

 

I'm not against imagination in opera productions.  I recently saw  a Guilio Cesare inspired by Agatha Christie's Death on the Nile.  At one point Cesare, in a white tuxedo, steps up to a 1929's style microphone to deliver a major aria.  It was an evening of total joy, the producer did something entirely original without alienating his audience.  I find fewer monstrosities on my European Opera jaunts.  Perhaps the new opera boss will make wiser production choices than we see in London at present.  My fingers are crossed.

[Geoff]

Just now, MAB said:

As Lucia is based on The Bride of Lammermore by Walter Scott, clearly Scottish literature wasn't part of the syllabus.

To be fair, the book is pretty different from the opera. Apart the rest, the baddie in the book is - and no doubt Katie wouldn’t like this - Lucia’s mother. 

[Scheherezade]

I have no musical background @Geoffbut I generally find dramatic Interpolations that have no connection to the music irritating in the extreme.
 

I also find them patronising since they tend to imply that the audience lacks the imagination to join up the dots in the plot. 

[Scheherezade]

2 hours ago, MAB said:

Perhaps the new opera boss will make wiser production choices than we see in London at present.  My fingers are crossed.

You are obviously a glass half full person @MAB  I thought  was too but obviously not since my reaction tends more towards I’m not holding my breath than my fingers are crossed. 

[alison]

On 23/04/2024 at 08:23, MAB said:

Sorry. but what kind of mind comes up with this stuff?

 

(Never seen the opera, but have frequently seen photos of the blood-spattered bridal gown) - am I right in thinking that the miscarriage was chosen as an alternative reason for the bloodstains?

[JohnS]

 

On 21/04/2024 at 03:52, Geoff said:

… hearing the orchestra conducted as they were on Friday (so much better than at the dress incidentally) …

Was it the same conductor and did Katherine Baker, principal flute, take a curtain call bow - she did at the General Rehearsal?

[MAB]

The bloodstains are usually because she's just committed murder.  The director has imposed her own story line onto the plot.

[Geoff]

1 hour ago, JohnS said:

 

Was it the same conductor and did Katherine Baker, principal flute, take a curtain call bow - she did at the General Rehearsal?

Yes and yes. But for the first night she was not placed centre stage (which had accidentally created the impression at the dress that she was being honoured on an equal footing with the star of the show). 

[Geoff]

3 hours ago, alison said:

 

(Never seen the opera, but have frequently seen photos of the blood-spattered bridal gown) - am I right in thinking that the miscarriage was chosen as an alternative reason for the bloodstains?

Yes.

[alison]

Did they put a trigger warning on the production?

[JohnS]

Website has: ‘GUIDANCE Suitable for ages 16+’

 

Cast sheet: ‘This production contains explicit depictions of miscarriage, murder and suicide. There is blood and gore throughout.’