Rancatore † De Biasio † Grassi † Iori Orchestra and Chorus ... · Ciro in Babilonia(Naxos...

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Désirée Rancatore (Lucia) and Roberto de Biasio (Sir Edgardo)

DONIZETTILucia di LammermoorRancatore • De Biasio • Grassi • Iori

Orchestra and Chorus of the Bergamo Musica Festival Gaetano Donizetti

Antonino Fogliani

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Luca GrassiBorn in the San Marino Republic and trained as an engineer, Luca Grassi started his musicstudies in Bologna. In 1998 he was successful in the Città di Roma competition, where hemade his début as Germont in La traviata. In the same year he performed, in Czech, thetitle rôle in Šarlatán by P. Haas at the Wexford Festival. He has been a regular guest ofthe Martina Franca Festival, and has appeared with Glyndebourne Touring Opera,throughout Italy, with Scottish Opera and the Deutsche Oper in Berlin. He sang Germontunder Lorin Maazel at the reopening of La Fenice in Venice, and has also appeared in Japanand Hong Kong.

Tiziana FalcoTiziana Falco was born in Bari, Southern Italy, studying there at the Conservatory. Herprizes include success in the Francesco Cilea Competition in Reggio Calabria, the RolandoNicolosi International Competition in Taranto, a special award as the best Italian voice atthe Umberto Giordano International Competition in Foggia, and First Prize at the SixthValerio Gentile International Competition in Fasano. Her career has taken her to Spain, theUnited Kingdom, Thailand, China and Japan and she has collaborated with leadingcolleagues and conductors.

Antonino FoglianiAntonino Fogliani was born in Messina in 1976 and studied the piano at the G.B.MartiniConservatory in Bologna and conducting at the Giuseppe Verdi Conservatory in Milan andat the Accademia Chigiana in Siena and the Arts Department of Bologna University. From1997 he studied with Gianluigi Gelmetti in Siena and served as the latter’s assistant inRome, Venice, London and Munich. Conducting engagements have taken him to leadinginternational opera-houses and concert venues. For Rossini in Wildbad he directed Rossini’sCiro in Babilonia (Naxos 8.660203-04), L’occasione fa il ladro, Mosè in Egitto (Naxos8.660220-21), La scala di seta, Il signor Bruschino (Naxos 8.660218) and La sposa diMessina (Vaccaj).

Bergamo Musica Festival Orchestra and ChorusSpecially formed in 2006 to participate in the Autumn Bergamo Donizetti Opera season,the Bergamo Musica Festival Orchestra and Chorus is made up in large part of bothmembers of staff and the best students of the Istituto Musicale bergamasco.

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GaetanoDONIZETTI

(1797–1848)

Lucia di LammermoorDramma tragico in Two Parts and Three Acts

Libretto by Salvadore CammaranoInspired by Sir Walter Scott’s The Bride of Lammermoor

Edition by Gabriele Dotto and Roger Parker

Lucia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Désirée Rancatore Sir Edgardo di Ravenswood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Roberto De Biasio Lord Enrico Asthon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Luca Grassi Raimondo Bidebent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Enrico Giuseppe Iori Lord Arturo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Matteo Barca Alisa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tiziana FalcoNormanno . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Vincenzo Maria Sarinelli


Chorus Master: Marina MalavasiConductor: Antonino Fogliani

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Désirée RancatoreBorn in Palermo, Désirée Rancatore began her musical studies at a very young age. Winnerof important singing competitions, she made her operatic début in Le nozze di Figaro atthe Salzburg Festival. She is now acknowledged as a major lyric coloratura soprano andher extraordinary vocal timbre and great acting skills have enabled her to perform a vastand varied repertoire in the world’s most important theatres, such as La Scala, the SalzburgFestival, Covent Garden, the Opéra National de Paris, the Opernhaus-Zürich, the ViennaState Opera, the Teatro Real de Madrid, and the theatres of Florence, Venice, Parma,Genoa, Turin, Bologna, Palermo, and the ROF in Pesaro, among many others. She hascollaborated with such conductors as Myung-Whun Chung, James Conlon, CharlesMackerras, Lorin Maazel and Riccardo Muti. In 2004 she opened the Teatro alla Scala’s2004/05 season as Semele in L’Europa riconosciuta under Riccardo Muti’s baton. Shemade her début as Lucia in Bergamo in 2005/06, repeating her great success in the rôle inmajor theatres in Japan.

Roberto De BiasioBorn in Sicily, Roberto de Biasio studied in Naples, graduating in flute, and at CassinoUniversity in modern literature. He had his vocal training with Mara Naddei, then withMalcolm King and Dennis O’Neill, and made his début in Candide in Trento. He sang Unballo in maschera in the first performance at the Tirana Opera Theatre and at Poly Theatrein Beijing, with appearances in Petrassi’s La morte dell’aria at La Fenice in Venice andLa Bohème in Pordenone. He sang in the world première of Liberovici’s Titania la Rossain Piacenza, and Pulcinella in a tour of Spain and Portugal, and made his début as Pinkertonin a first centenary performance in Kyoto. He made his début in Bergamo as Edgardo inLucia di Lammermoor, followed by Leicester in Maria Stuarda at the Sferisterio inMacerata, Gennaro in Lucrezia Borgia in Bergamo, and appearances in Lucia diLammermoor in Tokyo, Osaka and Lecce, La Traviata, Macbeth, Oberto conte di sanBonifacio and Nabucco in Parma, Attila in Modena and Piacenza, Roberto Devereux andLa rondine in Trieste, and Nabucco at La Fenice.

Enrico Giuseppe IoriEnrico Iori studied as an opera singer at the Parma A. Boito Conservatory and was amember of the Accademia Verdiana of the Arturo Toscanini Foundation. In 1996 he tooka vocal course at the Accademia Chigiana in Siena, and received a diploma of merit. Healso won the Busseto International Competition Voci Verdiane. He made his début inRome in Rigoletto, for which he won the International Città di Roma Competition. At theTeatro Ventidio Basso in Ascoli Piceno he participated in productions of Il trovatore andL’amico Fritz, and appeared at the Teatro Regio in Parma in La Bohème, Mozart’s Requiemand Un ballo in maschera. He has been a guest at the summer festival of San Gimignanoand sang the rôle of Don Quixote in Manuel de Falla’s El retablo de Maese Pedro.

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mind she smells the incense burning and sees the ministerarrive to perform the marriage, while the guests of her real,ill-fated wedding gravely express sorrow at her pitiablestate.

0 Enrico enters, demanding to know if the terrible news istrue; Raimondo explains what has happened as, in hermadness, Lucia continues to talk to Edgardo, beseechinghim to forgive her for having married another.

! As she foresees her imminent death, Lucia promises topray for Edgardo in heaven and will await him there. Alisaleads the demented girl away and Raimondo turns onNormanno as having been the cause of the awful tragedythat is being played out.

Scene 3: The Ravenswood family burial ground, nearWolf’s Crag

@ Edgardo awaits Enrico, prepared for their duel. He nolonger wishes to live, deprived of Lucia’s love but blamingher for his final misery.

# He begs her never to forget him and, as she passes by histomb in years to come, to respect the resting place of theman who loved her.

$ Villagers arrive giving Edgardo the news of Lucia’sterrible plight; a bell tolls and Raimondo hurries in from thecastle telling them that the poor girl has breathed her last.

% Edgardo yearns finally to join her in heaven and drawshis dagger to strike a final blow. As he dies, his thoughtsare for his beautiful, beloved Lucia; he knows that, althoughseparated in life, they will be re-united in death, whileRaimondo and the villagers seek God’s pardon for thetragic events that have blighted the Ashton and Ravens-wood families.

Paul Campion

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CD 1 62:33Part 1. The PartingSingle Act: Scene 1

1 Prelude – Percorrete le spiagge vicine(Normanno, Chorus) 4:22

2 Tu sei turbato! … E n’ho ben donde (Normanno, Enrico, Raimondo) 2:42

3 Cruda … funesta smania – Il tuo dubbio è ormai certezza (Enrico, Normanno, Raimondo, Chorus) 4:06

4 La pietade in suo favore (Enrico, Raimondo, Normanno, Chorus) 2:51Scene 2

5 Ancor non giunse! (Lucia, Alisa) 4:386 Regnava nel silenzio (Lucia, Alisa) 4:107 Quando rapito in estasi (Lucia, Alisa) 4:318 Egli s’avanza (Alisa, Edgardo, Lucia) 5:579 Qui, di sposa eterna fede (Edgardo, Lucia) 2:250 Verrano a te sull’aure (Lucia, Edgardo) 4:34

Part 2. The Marriage ContractAct I: Scene 1

! Lucia fra poco a te verrà (Normanno, Enrico) 2:53@ Appressati, Lucia (Enrico, Lucia) 5:28# Soffriva nel pianto (Lucia, Enrico) 4:39$ Se tradirmi tu potrai (Enrico, Lucia) 2:14% Ebben?… Di tua speranza … (Lucia, Raimondo) 2:24^ Ah! cedi, cedi, o più sciagure (Raimondo, Lucia) 4:37

CD 2 70:07Scene 2

1 Per te d’immenso giubilo … Per poco fra le tenebre (Chorus, Enrico, Normanno, Arturo) 3:17

2 Dov’è Lucia … – Ecco il tuo sposo – Edgardo(Arturo, Enrico, Chorus, Lucia, Raimondo, Normanno, Alisa, Edgardo) 3:52

3 Chi mi frena in tal momento (Edgardo, Enrico, Lucia, Arturo, Raimondo, Chorus, Alisa) 3:38

4 T’allontana, sciagurato … Rispettate, o voi, di Dio (Enrico, Arturo, Normanno, Chorus, Edgardo, Raimondo, Lucia, Alisa) 5:48

Act II: Scene 15 Orrida è questa notte – Io. Quale ardire! (Edgardo,

Enrico) 2:356 Qui del padre ancor s’aggira (Edgardo, Enrico) 6:12

Scene 27 D’immenso giubilo (Chorus) 1:358 Cessi … ahi cessi quel contento (Raimondo,

Chorus) 6:329 Il dolce suono mi colpì* (Lucia, Raimondo,

Normanno, Alisa, Chorus) 13:150 S’avanza Enrico! – Ditemi: vera è l’atroce scena?*

(Enrico, Raimondo, Chorus, Lucia, Alisa) 3:03! Spargi d’amaro pianto* (Lucia, Alisa, Raimondo,

Normanno, Chorus, Enrico) 4:42Scene 3

@ Tombe degli avi miei, l’ultimo avanzo (Edgardo) 3:51# Fra poco a me ricovero (Edgardo) 3:22$ Oh meschina! Oh caso orrendo! (Chorus,

Edgardo, Raimondo) 3:38% Tu che a Dio spiegasti l’ali (Edgardo, Raimondo,

Chorus) 4:45

* Tracks 9–11 = Mad Scene


When Sir Walter Scott’s novel The Bride of Lammermoorwas published in June 1819 it received a mixed receptionfrom the critics. Blackwood’s, a popular journal at the time,declared it to be ‘a pure and magnificent tragic romance’,whilst other magazines regarded it as far too gloomy. Basedon real-life events of 1669, this tale of love, feuds, deceptionand madness appealed very greatly to Scott’s more generalreadership, as well as to some of the librettists andcomposers of his time; within fifteen years of the novel’spublication at least five operas had been composed, basedon the story of Lucia and her unhappy fate. It is no surprise,then, that Salvadore Cammarano relished the prospect ofwriting the libretto for such an opera himself and thatDonizetti took to the idea equally enthusiastically. Scotlandand all things Scottish had inspired European librettists andcomposers for a number of years, thanks largely to SirWalter and his prodigious literary output, and wouldcontinue to do so throughout the nineteenth century.Beethoven, Rossini, Schubert, Berlioz and Mendelssohn (toname just a few contemporaries) were influenced by thegreat Scottish writer; in the age of the Romantics, little couldseem more suitable for adaptation for the operatic stage thanhis widely-read novels.

By 1835 Cammarano (1801-1852) was already a sea-soned man of the theatre. Having started a career as aplaywright, he soon turned to writing texts for operacomposers, the first of which was ignominiously rejected byDomenico Barbaia in 1832; but after his successfuladaptation of Lucia in 1835 he went from strength tostrength and prepared a further seven libretti for Donizetti,including those for Roberto Devereux (1837) and Poliuto(first performed in 1848). He collaborated happily with othercomposers too, and worked with Verdi on three operasbefore tackling his last venture – the text for Il trovatore –although he died before that commission was completed.

Donizetti’s first performed opera was Enrico diBorgogna, composed when he was twenty, in 1818. Hewrote at an extraordinary speed and during the next 25 years

created over sixty operas, some in more than one version,for theatres in Italy, Paris and Vienna; they were almost allimmediately successful and many were received withsimilar enthusiasm elsewhere in Europe and in NorthAmerica in his lifetime. During the last three years of his lifethe symptoms of a terrible illness manifested themselvesand at the end he was paralysed and barely able to speak. Hedied in Bergamo, the town of his birth, 25 miles northeastof Milan where, at La Scala and other theatres, some of hisgreatest successes had first been staged.

If Donizetti were to be remembered by just one work, itwould be Lucia di Lammermoor. His comedies L’elisird’amore and Don Pasquale were occasionally staged, evenwhen most of his other operas were forgotten, but for almosta century it was on Lucia that his reputation principallyrested; it remains the archetypal Romantic Italian tragicopera and the byword for ‘operatic madness’ that Donizettiand his contemporaries popularised in the first half of thenineteenth century. Lucia is a favourite example of the belcanto style – although that term was never used inDonizetti’s own lifetime to describe his compositions.

From the outset, the rôle of Lucia attracted the topcoloratura sopranos of their day; her creator was FannyTacchinardi Persiani who, in a stage career lasting over 25years, sang in works by Mozart, Rossini, Bellini and, mostnotably, Donizetti. As well as Lucia, she also graced thepremières of both his Rosmonda d’Inghilterra in Florencein 1834 and, three years later, his Pia de’ Tolomei in Veniceand subsequently appeared frequently in Paris, Vienna andSt Petersburg. Tacchinardi Persiani also sang the firstLondon performances of Lucia, at Her Majesty’s Theatre,in 1838; she was a great favourite with her British public andreturned often over the following ten years.

The French tenor Gilbert Duprez, who created the rôleof Edgardo in Naples, had been highly acclaimed in Italy forseven years even before singing in the première of Lucia.His technical prowess was legendary and it was during hislater long career at the Paris Opéra that he appeared in the

Gaetano Donizetti (1797–1848)Lucia di Lammermoor

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Lucia di Lammermoor was first performed at the Teatro San Carlo, Naples, on 26th September 1835.

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# She (understandably) cannot believe that Edgardo hasbeen unfaithful and soon hears the welcome being given toArturo, who is approaching the castle. Enrico explains thatshe must marry Arturo, the only way that their family’swealth can be restored.

$ Ever more desperate, Enrico cajoles Lucia into acceptingthis unhappy union.

% As Enrico leaves to greet Arturo, Raimondo enters theapartments. He has been a party to the deception of Lucia,but believes that Edgardo has indeed been unfaithful to her;he urges the hapless girl to accept her fate as Arturo’s bride.

^ Lucia will not listen as Raimondo pleads the familycause for her unwanted marriage. Finally she gives in,accepts her fate and damns the ‘unfaithful’ Edgardo.Assured by Raimondo of divine support, she prepares fora life of misery as her mentor rejoices at the success of hispersuasive argument.

CD 2

Scene 2: The Great Hall of Enrico’s castle

1 Guests at the wedding party welcome the occasion withrejoicing and Arturo expresses pleasure at his happy unionwith the Ashton family.

2 Enrico assures Arturo that Lucia will soon join thembut explains that she is still grieving at the death of hermother. As she enters mournfully to sign the marriagecontract, Arturo expresses his delight, and Enrico his relief,at the course events have taken. No sooner is her signatureon the document than, to everyone’s amazement and horror,the much reviled Edgardo arrives to claim Lucia’s hand.

3 In the celebrated sextet, the principal characters revealtheir heartfelt emotions; Edgardo accuses Lucia ofbetraying him, she seeks death as her only way to peace,Enrico sees his terrible error in the deception of his sister,while Alisa, Arturo, Raimondo and the wedding guests areall equally aghast at this turn of events.

4 Enrico and Arturo draw swords against Edgardo, whilstRaimondo fruitlessly urges them to set down their weapons.Edgardo sees the written proof of Lucia’s marriage, atwhich he confronts her with perfidy. In a great ensemble toclose the act, Edgardo is ordered from the castle, while hein turn reviles his former love. Lucia prays for Edgardo’ssafety, realising that the end of her life is now surelyapproaching, and Raimondo offers hopeless, but wellintended, spiritual comfort.

Act II

Scene 1: A ruined hall in Wolf’s Crag, the castle of theRavenswood family

5 It is a stormy night. Edgardo is discovered alone in hiscastle when he hears a horseman approaching. Enrico entersand threatens him.

6 Edgardo is determined to avenge his father but is cruellyreminded by Enrico of Lucia’s recent marriage. The twoenemies agree to fight to the death and will meet,surrounded by the tombs of the Ravenswood family burialground, at dawn the following day.


7 The guests are continuing to enjoy Lucia and Arturo’swedding celebrations…

8 … when Raimondo enters, horrified at what he has justseen. Having heard a sinister cry from the nuptial bedroom,he discovered Arturo lying dead, blood-drenched, with hisbride standing over him holding the fatal dagger – andentirely unhinged – asking where her husband was. Theguests are equally appalled when Lucia herself enters,clearly having lost all reason.

9 To the accompaniment of the ‘other-worldly’ sound ofthe glass harmonica, Lucia imagines herself to be oncemore with Edgardo, sitting beside the fountain. Terrified,she sees the ghost and urges Edgardo to take refuge with herby the altar, where she hears music being played – suchhappiness as their wedding approaches. In her maddened


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CD 1

The action takes place in the region of the LammermoorHills in Scotland, in the late seventeenth century.

PART 1. The Parting

Single Act

Scene 1: The grounds of Lord Enrico Ashton’s castle.

1 A short, ominous orchestral prelude warns of the tragedythat is about to unfold. Normanno and other servants ofLord Enrico Ashton are searching for signs of Sir Edgardodi Ravenswood who, it is rumoured, has been seen in thevicinity. Edgardo is the sworn enemy of the Ashtons,following a longstanding family feud.

2 Enrico has plans to marry his sister, Lucia, to LordArturo, a wealthy suitor, in order to restore the familyfortunes. Raimondo Bidebent, the chaplain, cannot believethat she is ready yet to love, being still in mourning for hermother; but Normanno reveals that Lucia’s affections aredrawn to none other than the hated Edgardo, whom shemeets every morning beside a fountain in a secluded cornerof the park.

3 The very thought appals Enrico but the servants confirmthe story, having just seen Edgardo in the castle grounds onhorseback, while Raimondo is reluctant to believe it.

4 Enrico swears vengeance on his enemy, the servantsassure him that Edgardo will be caught and Raimondolaments the ill-fortune that has beset the Ashton family.

Scene 2: Beside a fountain in the castle park

5 Lucia, with her companion Alisa, waits for Edgardo,who is late for their tryst. Lucia remembers the story of awoman’s murder years earlier by a member of theRavenswood family – the victim’s ghost still haunts thefountain where her body lies.

6 She relates how, at the dead of night, in the palemoonlight, the ghost appeared to her, beckoned and triedto speak, before vanishing once more. Alisa, deeplyalarmed, warns of the danger of Lucia’s feelings forEdgardo…

7 … but Lucia can think only of the ecstasy of his love,despite Alisa’s misgivings.

8 Alisa keeps watch when Edgardo arrives. He tells Luciathat he must leave for France on political business but,before departing, hopes to make peace with Enrico and askfor Lucia’s hand in marriage. When Lucia urges him toremain silent about their love, Edgardo rails against Enrico,who was his father’s murderer and thief of the Ravenswoodfamily fortune and estates. Only Edgardo’s adoration ofLucia will restore peace in his heart.

9 In a gesture of marriage, Edgardo and Lucia exchangerings, as he makes ready to leave for France.

0 They share the hope that, while separated, their sighswill reach each other on the gentle breezes but they know,too, that Lucia will weep in her solitude; with a sad farewell,Edgardo hurries away.

PART 2. The Marriage Contract

Act I

Scene 1: Enrico’s apartments in his castle

! Enrico and Normanno await Lucia’s arrival. Normannohas intercepted her correspondence and sent a false letter,giving the impression that Edgardo now loves another. Thearranged marriage to Lord Arturo is planned to take placeshortly.

@ The deceived girl enters; on being told by Enrico that shewill soon be wed, she admits that her feelings lie elsewhereand, when shown a forged letter, her heart breaks.

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Synopsisfirst performance of Berlioz’s Benvenuto Cellini, among ahost of successful rôles. Duprez also enjoyed two popularseasons in London in 1843-4; after his retirement in 1851 hetaught at the Paris Conservatoire and composed some lightoperatic works which, sadly, never gained great popularity.

Following the success of Lucia di Lammermoor in sev-eral European opera houses, Donizetti was commissioned toprepare a French version for the Théâtre de la Renaissancein Paris; this required a fresh text with major changes to themusic and to some of the characters, one (Alisa) beingremoved altogether and another (Gilbert) newly created. Itbecame, effectively, a different opera and was originallystaged in 1839. It was in this version that North America firstsaw and heard Lucia (in New Orleans) in 1841 and while itremained popular for some time in French-speakingcountries, and has recently been recorded, it is Donizetti’sItalian Lucia that has generally been preferred in the world’sopera houses during the last hundred years.

Apart from the creation of the opera’s French version,other changes have beset Lucia di Lammermoor over thedecades, as has so often been the case with operas by Doni-zetti and his contemporaries. For many years one section –the short Wolf’s Crag scene (one of the most excitingconfrontations in the story) – was customarily cut fromperformances and another – the scene for Edgardo thatcloses the opera – was also frequently omitted fromproductions. It is said that some sopranos, jealous of theopportunity given to the tenor to end the opera with hisbeautifully sung, but tragic, demise, demanded that the workconclude, rather, with the ‘Mad Scene’, thus ensuring thatthe prima donna received all the audience’s plaudits for herfinal coloratura display. Be that as it may, the interpretationof Donizetti’s masterpiece on this recording is performedcomplete, in the Bergamo Musica Festival GaetanoDonizetti production by Francesco Esposito.

Another change was instigated in Lucia’s earliest daysby Fanny Tacchinardi Persiani herself; for reasons which are

not entirely clear, she replaced the original aria ‘Regnava nelsilenzio’ and its cabaletta ‘Quando, rapito in estasi’ in thesecond scene with a number from Rosmonda d’Inghilterra,first performed in 1834. Whether this switch had Donizetti’sblessing is not known but the custom continued for severalyears. Among her successors in the rôle who also sang the‘unofficial’ aria was Jenny Lind, ‘The Swedish Nightingale’.In Joan Bulman’s biography of Lind (James Barrie, 1956)it is related that, when around 1841 she went to Paris tostudy with Manuel García, ‘… he asked her to sing the aria‘Perchè non ho’, from Lucia di Lammermoor. It was one ofher most popular parts, she had sung it thirty-nine times inthe preceding year …’

It need hardly be added that ‘Perchè non ho’ is fromRosmonda d’Inghilterra, not from Donizetti’s originalversion of Lucia. There is other written evidence, too, thatLind preferred the spurious replacement but the shorttradition seems to have died out by the time Adelina Pattifirst sang the rôle in London in 1861; now, 150 years later,Rosmonda’s aria is barely remembered.

The rôle of Edgardo has been sung and acted superblyby the world’s finest tenors over the years, but it isinvariably Lucia who steals the show with her extended‘Mad Scene’ and subsequent ensemble – an extraordinarytwenty minutes of bravura singing. In Maestro AntoninoFogliani’s interpretation, using an edition prepared byGabriele Dotto and Roger Parker, the armonico, or glassharmonica, is the instrument of choice to accompanyLucia’s madness. Donizetti’s original score shows that heinitially composed the scene with that instrument in mind;later thoughts led him to prefer the flute, which is generallyheard in modern performances, but there is no doubt thatthe more unusual armonico lends an ‘other-worldly’character to the scene that underlines Lucia‘s fragile stateof mind.

Paul Campion


When Sir Walter Scott’s novel The Bride of Lammermoorwas published in June 1819 it received a mixed receptionfrom the critics. Blackwood’s, a popular journal at the time,declared it to be ‘a pure and magnificent tragic romance’,whilst other magazines regarded it as far too gloomy. Basedon real-life events of 1669, this tale of love, feuds, deceptionand madness appealed very greatly to Scott’s more generalreadership, as well as to some of the librettists andcomposers of his time; within fifteen years of the novel’spublication at least five operas had been composed, basedon the story of Lucia and her unhappy fate. It is no surprise,then, that Salvadore Cammarano relished the prospect ofwriting the libretto for such an opera himself and thatDonizetti took to the idea equally enthusiastically. Scotlandand all things Scottish had inspired European librettists andcomposers for a number of years, thanks largely to SirWalter and his prodigious literary output, and wouldcontinue to do so throughout the nineteenth century.Beethoven, Rossini, Schubert, Berlioz and Mendelssohn (toname just a few contemporaries) were influenced by thegreat Scottish writer; in the age of the Romantics, little couldseem more suitable for adaptation for the operatic stage thanhis widely-read novels.

By 1835 Cammarano (1801-1852) was already a sea-soned man of the theatre. Having started a career as aplaywright, he soon turned to writing texts for operacomposers, the first of which was ignominiously rejected byDomenico Barbaia in 1832; but after his successfuladaptation of Lucia in 1835 he went from strength tostrength and prepared a further seven libretti for Donizetti,including those for Roberto Devereux (1837) and Poliuto(first performed in 1848). He collaborated happily with othercomposers too, and worked with Verdi on three operasbefore tackling his last venture – the text for Il trovatore –although he died before that commission was completed.

Donizetti’s first performed opera was Enrico diBorgogna, composed when he was twenty, in 1818. Hewrote at an extraordinary speed and during the next 25 years

created over sixty operas, some in more than one version,for theatres in Italy, Paris and Vienna; they were almost allimmediately successful and many were received withsimilar enthusiasm elsewhere in Europe and in NorthAmerica in his lifetime. During the last three years of his lifethe symptoms of a terrible illness manifested themselvesand at the end he was paralysed and barely able to speak. Hedied in Bergamo, the town of his birth, 25 miles northeastof Milan where, at La Scala and other theatres, some of hisgreatest successes had first been staged.

If Donizetti were to be remembered by just one work, itwould be Lucia di Lammermoor. His comedies L’elisird’amore and Don Pasquale were occasionally staged, evenwhen most of his other operas were forgotten, but for almosta century it was on Lucia that his reputation principallyrested; it remains the archetypal Romantic Italian tragicopera and the byword for ‘operatic madness’ that Donizettiand his contemporaries popularised in the first half of thenineteenth century. Lucia is a favourite example of the belcanto style – although that term was never used inDonizetti’s own lifetime to describe his compositions.

From the outset, the rôle of Lucia attracted the topcoloratura sopranos of their day; her creator was FannyTacchinardi Persiani who, in a stage career lasting over 25years, sang in works by Mozart, Rossini, Bellini and, mostnotably, Donizetti. As well as Lucia, she also graced thepremières of both his Rosmonda d’Inghilterra in Florencein 1834 and, three years later, his Pia de’ Tolomei in Veniceand subsequently appeared frequently in Paris, Vienna andSt Petersburg. Tacchinardi Persiani also sang the firstLondon performances of Lucia, at Her Majesty’s Theatre,in 1838; she was a great favourite with her British public andreturned often over the following ten years.

The French tenor Gilbert Duprez, who created the rôleof Edgardo in Naples, had been highly acclaimed in Italy forseven years even before singing in the première of Lucia.His technical prowess was legendary and it was during hislater long career at the Paris Opéra that he appeared in the

Gaetano Donizetti (1797–1848)Lucia di Lammermoor

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Lucia di Lammermoor was first performed at the Teatro San Carlo, Naples, on 26th September 1835.

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# She (understandably) cannot believe that Edgardo hasbeen unfaithful and soon hears the welcome being given toArturo, who is approaching the castle. Enrico explains thatshe must marry Arturo, the only way that their family’swealth can be restored.

$ Ever more desperate, Enrico cajoles Lucia into acceptingthis unhappy union.

% As Enrico leaves to greet Arturo, Raimondo enters theapartments. He has been a party to the deception of Lucia,but believes that Edgardo has indeed been unfaithful to her;he urges the hapless girl to accept her fate as Arturo’s bride.

^ Lucia will not listen as Raimondo pleads the familycause for her unwanted marriage. Finally she gives in,accepts her fate and damns the ‘unfaithful’ Edgardo.Assured by Raimondo of divine support, she prepares fora life of misery as her mentor rejoices at the success of hispersuasive argument.

CD 2


1 Guests at the wedding party welcome the occasion withrejoicing and Arturo expresses pleasure at his happy unionwith the Ashton family.

2 Enrico assures Arturo that Lucia will soon join thembut explains that she is still grieving at the death of hermother. As she enters mournfully to sign the marriagecontract, Arturo expresses his delight, and Enrico his relief,at the course events have taken. No sooner is her signatureon the document than, to everyone’s amazement and horror,the much reviled Edgardo arrives to claim Lucia’s hand.

3 In the celebrated sextet, the principal characters revealtheir heartfelt emotions; Edgardo accuses Lucia ofbetraying him, she seeks death as her only way to peace,Enrico sees his terrible error in the deception of his sister,while Alisa, Arturo, Raimondo and the wedding guests areall equally aghast at this turn of events.

4 Enrico and Arturo draw swords against Edgardo, whilstRaimondo fruitlessly urges them to set down their weapons.Edgardo sees the written proof of Lucia’s marriage, atwhich he confronts her with perfidy. In a great ensemble toclose the act, Edgardo is ordered from the castle, while hein turn reviles his former love. Lucia prays for Edgardo’ssafety, realising that the end of her life is now surelyapproaching, and Raimondo offers hopeless, but wellintended, spiritual comfort.

Act II

Scene 1: A ruined hall in Wolf’s Crag, the castle of theRavenswood family

5 It is a stormy night. Edgardo is discovered alone in hiscastle when he hears a horseman approaching. Enrico entersand threatens him.

6 Edgardo is determined to avenge his father but is cruellyreminded by Enrico of Lucia’s recent marriage. The twoenemies agree to fight to the death and will meet,surrounded by the tombs of the Ravenswood family burialground, at dawn the following day.


7 The guests are continuing to enjoy Lucia and Arturo’swedding celebrations…

8 … when Raimondo enters, horrified at what he has justseen. Having heard a sinister cry from the nuptial bedroom,he discovered Arturo lying dead, blood-drenched, with hisbride standing over him holding the fatal dagger – andentirely unhinged – asking where her husband was. Theguests are equally appalled when Lucia herself enters,clearly having lost all reason.

9 To the accompaniment of the ‘other-worldly’ sound ofthe glass harmonica, Lucia imagines herself to be oncemore with Edgardo, sitting beside the fountain. Terrified,she sees the ghost and urges Edgardo to take refuge with herby the altar, where she hears music being played – suchhappiness as their wedding approaches. In her maddened


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mind she smells the incense burning and sees the ministerarrive to perform the marriage, while the guests of her real,ill-fated wedding gravely express sorrow at her pitiablestate.

0 Enrico enters, demanding to know if the terrible news istrue; Raimondo explains what has happened as, in hermadness, Lucia continues to talk to Edgardo, beseechinghim to forgive her for having married another.

! As she foresees her imminent death, Lucia promises topray for Edgardo in heaven and will await him there. Alisaleads the demented girl away and Raimondo turns onNormanno as having been the cause of the awful tragedythat is being played out.

Scene 3: The Ravenswood family burial ground, nearWolf’s Crag

@ Edgardo awaits Enrico, prepared for their duel. He nolonger wishes to live, deprived of Lucia’s love but blamingher for his final misery.

# He begs her never to forget him and, as she passes by histomb in years to come, to respect the resting place of theman who loved her.

$ Villagers arrive giving Edgardo the news of Lucia’sterrible plight; a bell tolls and Raimondo hurries in from thecastle telling them that the poor girl has breathed her last.

% Edgardo yearns finally to join her in heaven and drawshis dagger to strike a final blow. As he dies, his thoughtsare for his beautiful, beloved Lucia; he knows that, althoughseparated in life, they will be re-united in death, whileRaimondo and the villagers seek God’s pardon for thetragic events that have blighted the Ashton and Ravens-wood families.

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CD 1 62:33Part 1. The PartingSingle Act: Scene 1

1 Prelude – Percorrete le spiagge vicine(Normanno, Chorus) 4:22

2 Tu sei turbato! … E n’ho ben donde (Normanno, Enrico, Raimondo) 2:42

3 Cruda … funesta smania – Il tuo dubbio è ormai certezza (Enrico, Normanno, Raimondo, Chorus) 4:06

4 La pietade in suo favore (Enrico, Raimondo, Normanno, Chorus) 2:51Scene 2

5 Ancor non giunse! (Lucia, Alisa) 4:386 Regnava nel silenzio (Lucia, Alisa) 4:107 Quando rapito in estasi (Lucia, Alisa) 4:318 Egli s’avanza (Alisa, Edgardo, Lucia) 5:579 Qui, di sposa eterna fede (Edgardo, Lucia) 2:250 Verrano a te sull’aure (Lucia, Edgardo) 4:34

Part 2. The Marriage ContractAct I: Scene 1

! Lucia fra poco a te verrà (Normanno, Enrico) 2:53@ Appressati, Lucia (Enrico, Lucia) 5:28# Soffriva nel pianto (Lucia, Enrico) 4:39$ Se tradirmi tu potrai (Enrico, Lucia) 2:14% Ebben?… Di tua speranza … (Lucia, Raimondo) 2:24^ Ah! cedi, cedi, o più sciagure (Raimondo, Lucia) 4:37

CD 2 70:07Scene 2

1 Per te d’immenso giubilo … Per poco fra le tenebre (Chorus, Enrico, Normanno, Arturo) 3:17

2 Dov’è Lucia … – Ecco il tuo sposo – Edgardo(Arturo, Enrico, Chorus, Lucia, Raimondo, Normanno, Alisa, Edgardo) 3:52

3 Chi mi frena in tal momento (Edgardo, Enrico, Lucia, Arturo, Raimondo, Chorus, Alisa) 3:38

4 T’allontana, sciagurato … Rispettate, o voi, di Dio (Enrico, Arturo, Normanno, Chorus, Edgardo, Raimondo, Lucia, Alisa) 5:48

Act II: Scene 15 Orrida è questa notte – Io. Quale ardire! (Edgardo,

Enrico) 2:356 Qui del padre ancor s’aggira (Edgardo, Enrico) 6:12

Scene 27 D’immenso giubilo (Chorus) 1:358 Cessi … ahi cessi quel contento (Raimondo,

Chorus) 6:329 Il dolce suono mi colpì* (Lucia, Raimondo,

Normanno, Alisa, Chorus) 13:150 S’avanza Enrico! – Ditemi: vera è l’atroce scena?*

(Enrico, Raimondo, Chorus, Lucia, Alisa) 3:03! Spargi d’amaro pianto* (Lucia, Alisa, Raimondo,

Normanno, Chorus, Enrico) 4:42Scene 3

@ Tombe degli avi miei, l’ultimo avanzo (Edgardo) 3:51# Fra poco a me ricovero (Edgardo) 3:22$ Oh meschina! Oh caso orrendo! (Chorus,

Edgardo, Raimondo) 3:38% Tu che a Dio spiegasti l’ali (Edgardo, Raimondo,

Chorus) 4:45

* Tracks 9–11 = Mad Scene


GaetanoDONIZETTI

(1797–1848)

Lucia di LammermoorDramma tragico in Two Parts and Three Acts

Libretto by Salvadore CammaranoInspired by Sir Walter Scott’s The Bride of Lammermoor

Edition by Gabriele Dotto and Roger Parker

Lucia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Désirée Rancatore Sir Edgardo di Ravenswood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Roberto De Biasio Lord Enrico Asthon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Luca Grassi Raimondo Bidebent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Enrico Giuseppe Iori Lord Arturo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Matteo Barca Alisa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tiziana FalcoNormanno . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Vincenzo Maria Sarinelli


Chorus Master: Marina MalavasiConductor: Antonino Fogliani

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Désirée RancatoreBorn in Palermo, Désirée Rancatore began her musical studies at a very young age. Winnerof important singing competitions, she made her operatic début in Le nozze di Figaro atthe Salzburg Festival. She is now acknowledged as a major lyric coloratura soprano andher extraordinary vocal timbre and great acting skills have enabled her to perform a vastand varied repertoire in the world’s most important theatres, such as La Scala, the SalzburgFestival, Covent Garden, the Opéra National de Paris, the Opernhaus-Zürich, the ViennaState Opera, the Teatro Real de Madrid, and the theatres of Florence, Venice, Parma,Genoa, Turin, Bologna, Palermo, and the ROF in Pesaro, among many others. She hascollaborated with such conductors as Myung-Whun Chung, James Conlon, CharlesMackerras, Lorin Maazel and Riccardo Muti. In 2004 she opened the Teatro alla Scala’s2004/05 season as Semele in L’Europa riconosciuta under Riccardo Muti’s baton. Shemade her début as Lucia in Bergamo in 2005/06, repeating her great success in the rôle inmajor theatres in Japan.

Roberto De BiasioBorn in Sicily, Roberto de Biasio studied in Naples, graduating in flute, and at CassinoUniversity in modern literature. He had his vocal training with Mara Naddei, then withMalcolm King and Dennis O’Neill, and made his début in Candide in Trento. He sang Unballo in maschera in the first performance at the Tirana Opera Theatre and at Poly Theatrein Beijing, with appearances in Petrassi’s La morte dell’aria at La Fenice in Venice andLa Bohème in Pordenone. He sang in the world première of Liberovici’s Titania la Rossain Piacenza, and Pulcinella in a tour of Spain and Portugal, and made his début as Pinkertonin a first centenary performance in Kyoto. He made his début in Bergamo as Edgardo inLucia di Lammermoor, followed by Leicester in Maria Stuarda at the Sferisterio inMacerata, Gennaro in Lucrezia Borgia in Bergamo, and appearances in Lucia diLammermoor in Tokyo, Osaka and Lecce, La Traviata, Macbeth, Oberto conte di sanBonifacio and Nabucco in Parma, Attila in Modena and Piacenza, Roberto Devereux andLa rondine in Trieste, and Nabucco at La Fenice.

Enrico Giuseppe IoriEnrico Iori studied as an opera singer at the Parma A. Boito Conservatory and was amember of the Accademia Verdiana of the Arturo Toscanini Foundation. In 1996 he tooka vocal course at the Accademia Chigiana in Siena, and received a diploma of merit. Healso won the Busseto International Competition Voci Verdiane. He made his début inRome in Rigoletto, for which he won the International Città di Roma Competition. At theTeatro Ventidio Basso in Ascoli Piceno he participated in productions of Il trovatore andL’amico Fritz, and appeared at the Teatro Regio in Parma in La Bohème, Mozart’s Requiemand Un ballo in maschera. He has been a guest at the summer festival of San Gimignanoand sang the rôle of Don Quixote in Manuel de Falla’s El retablo de Maese Pedro.


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Luca GrassiBorn in the San Marino Republic and trained as an engineer, Luca Grassi started his musicstudies in Bologna. In 1998 he was successful in the Città di Roma competition, where hemade his début as Germont in La traviata. In the same year he performed, in Czech, thetitle rôle in Šarlatán by P. Haas at the Wexford Festival. He has been a regular guest ofthe Martina Franca Festival, and has appeared with Glyndebourne Touring Opera,throughout Italy, with Scottish Opera and the Deutsche Oper in Berlin. He sang Germontunder Lorin Maazel at the reopening of La Fenice in Venice, and has also appeared in Japanand Hong Kong.

Tiziana FalcoTiziana Falco was born in Bari, Southern Italy, studying there at the Conservatory. Herprizes include success in the Francesco Cilea Competition in Reggio Calabria, the RolandoNicolosi International Competition in Taranto, a special award as the best Italian voice atthe Umberto Giordano International Competition in Foggia, and First Prize at the SixthValerio Gentile International Competition in Fasano. Her career has taken her to Spain, theUnited Kingdom, Thailand, China and Japan and she has collaborated with leadingcolleagues and conductors.

Antonino FoglianiAntonino Fogliani was born in Messina in 1976 and studied the piano at the G.B.MartiniConservatory in Bologna and conducting at the Giuseppe Verdi Conservatory in Milan andat the Accademia Chigiana in Siena and the Arts Department of Bologna University. From1997 he studied with Gianluigi Gelmetti in Siena and served as the latter’s assistant inRome, Venice, London and Munich. Conducting engagements have taken him to leadinginternational opera-houses and concert venues. For Rossini in Wildbad he directed Rossini’sCiro in Babilonia (Naxos 8.660203-04), L’occasione fa il ladro, Mosè in Egitto (Naxos8.660220-21), La scala di seta, Il signor Bruschino (Naxos 8.660218) and La sposa diMessina (Vaccaj).

Bergamo Musica Festival Orchestra and ChorusSpecially formed in 2006 to participate in the Autumn Bergamo Donizetti Opera season,the Bergamo Musica Festival Orchestra and Chorus is made up in large part of bothmembers of staff and the best students of the Istituto Musicale bergamasco.

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Désirée Rancatore (Lucia) and Roberto de Biasio (Sir Edgardo)

DONIZETTILucia di LammermoorRancatore • De Biasio • Grassi • Iori


Antonino Fogliani

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Also available:

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OPERA

CLASSICS

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Lucia di Lammermoor’s tragic tale of love, feuds, deception, madness and murder hasthrilled audiences since its première in 1835. It boasts a fast-moving plot, a strong cast ofcharacters, a brooding Scottish Gothic horror setting and some of Donizetti’s most effectiveand demanding music, making it the most celebrated bel canto opera in the repertoire. Onthis live recording from the Donizetti Theatre in Bergamo, Désirée Rancatore gives a freshand thrilling interpretation of the demanding rôle of the doomed heroine Lucy Ashton, herfamous ‘mad scene’ featuring a glass harmonica, Donizetti’s original choice of instrument,rather than the more usual flute, to underline the state of her shattered mind.

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GaetanoDONIZETTI

(1797–1848)

Lucia di Lammermoor

CD 1 1–0 Part 1 / !–^ Part 2: Act I, Scene 1 62:33 CD 2 1–4 Part 2: Act I, Scene 2 / 5–%Act II 70:07

A full track list can be found on page 4 of the bookletThe Italian libretto may be accessed at www.naxos.com/libretti/660255.htm

Recorded live at the Teatro Donizetti, Bergamo, Italy, 14 & 16 October 2006 Producer: Alberto Dellepiane • Engineer & Editor: Rino Trasi • Booklet notes: Paul Campion

Cover photo: Désirée Rancatore as Lucia (© Studio UV Gianfranco Rota)

Playing Time132:40

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Lucia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Désirée Rancatore Sir Edgardo di Ravenswood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Roberto De Biasio Lord Enrico Asthon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Luca Grassi Raimondo Bidebent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Enrico Giuseppe Iori Lord Arturo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Matteo BarcaAlisa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tiziana FalcoNormanno . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Vincenzo Maria Sarinelli


Chorus Master: Marina MalavasiAntonino Fogliani

Recorded by

Rancatore † De Biasio † Grassi † Iori Orchestra and Chorus ... · Ciro in Babilonia(Naxos...

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Transcript of Rancatore † De Biasio † Grassi † Iori Orchestra and Chorus ... · Ciro in Babilonia(Naxos...