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Honestly, my main response to "Lucia di Lammermoor" could be summed up as "squee!" It was marvellous - very compellingly staged, acted, and sung (oh, and the orchestra played well, too).
However, that's a rather unexciting review ;)
Anna Netrebko was a marvellous Lucia - the mad scene was breathtaking, and totally convincing; her confrontation with her villainous brother Arturo (Colin Lee) in act II sc 1 was excellent, too (albeit with a rather weird subtext...). Lee was deliciously evil. Piotr Beczela, who had taken over as Edgardo at fairly short notice occasionally seemed a bit lost, I thought - in terms of acting rather than singing. He was quite good at being tender, and quite good at being emo, but I didn't really feel his anger; he was a bit polite at times. His duet with Edgardo, when they discuss the duel, was nonetheless compelling viewing. I rather liked the Chaplain, Raimondo (Ildar Abdrazkov), though I'm a little confused; the interval interviews seemed to suggest that he was supposed to be a villain, but my reading of the role was that he was well-meaning, but gives Lucia bad advice because he too has been duped (though I'm not sure of the legality of breaking an engagement in Scots law at the time - on the other hand, I'm not convinced Donizetti knew there was a difference. Scott would have, of course). As you can tell, I am a total noob at Donizetti...
The production and set design were fabulous. The ghost in Act I was a great touch - Ravenswood is a haunted and unhappy place tainted by violence and hatred, and Lucia is doomed from the start - the woodland set was just unbelievably well-executed, and I liked the ninetenth century gothic costumes (the peasantry was got up rather Highland for the Lammermuirs, but never mind). Rather unexpected to see Culzean Castle popping up, but why not... The staircase, and otherwise non-naturalistic set in the mad scene worked well, as did the graveyard with the enormous moon. I liked the way the sets became steadily more abstract and les naturalistic as the opera progressed, and Lucia descends into desperation and madness...
The experience of seeing an opera at a cinema is a slightly strange one. It was certainly the most grey and well-spoken audience I have ever seen - the Bildungsbürgertum was out in force - and the conversations during the intermission ranged from Other Great Productions of Our Time to how to deal with applying for benefits for your elderly mother. Equally, I've never seen so much wine drunk in a cinema. The coverage itself was extremely engaging - it was mostly extremely well directed, and the choice of shot made sense. I'm less sure about the interval elements. The backstage vox pops were intermittently interesting, but they did consist of asking rather banal questions to people you felt would rather have been in their dressing rooms; Marco Armiliato, the conductor is adorable, though.
However, that's a rather unexciting review ;)
Anna Netrebko was a marvellous Lucia - the mad scene was breathtaking, and totally convincing; her confrontation with her villainous brother Arturo (Colin Lee) in act II sc 1 was excellent, too (albeit with a rather weird subtext...). Lee was deliciously evil. Piotr Beczela, who had taken over as Edgardo at fairly short notice occasionally seemed a bit lost, I thought - in terms of acting rather than singing. He was quite good at being tender, and quite good at being emo, but I didn't really feel his anger; he was a bit polite at times. His duet with Edgardo, when they discuss the duel, was nonetheless compelling viewing. I rather liked the Chaplain, Raimondo (Ildar Abdrazkov), though I'm a little confused; the interval interviews seemed to suggest that he was supposed to be a villain, but my reading of the role was that he was well-meaning, but gives Lucia bad advice because he too has been duped (though I'm not sure of the legality of breaking an engagement in Scots law at the time - on the other hand, I'm not convinced Donizetti knew there was a difference. Scott would have, of course). As you can tell, I am a total noob at Donizetti...
The production and set design were fabulous. The ghost in Act I was a great touch - Ravenswood is a haunted and unhappy place tainted by violence and hatred, and Lucia is doomed from the start - the woodland set was just unbelievably well-executed, and I liked the ninetenth century gothic costumes (the peasantry was got up rather Highland for the Lammermuirs, but never mind). Rather unexpected to see Culzean Castle popping up, but why not... The staircase, and otherwise non-naturalistic set in the mad scene worked well, as did the graveyard with the enormous moon. I liked the way the sets became steadily more abstract and les naturalistic as the opera progressed, and Lucia descends into desperation and madness...
The experience of seeing an opera at a cinema is a slightly strange one. It was certainly the most grey and well-spoken audience I have ever seen - the Bildungsbürgertum was out in force - and the conversations during the intermission ranged from Other Great Productions of Our Time to how to deal with applying for benefits for your elderly mother. Equally, I've never seen so much wine drunk in a cinema. The coverage itself was extremely engaging - it was mostly extremely well directed, and the choice of shot made sense. I'm less sure about the interval elements. The backstage vox pops were intermittently interesting, but they did consist of asking rather banal questions to people you felt would rather have been in their dressing rooms; Marco Armiliato, the conductor is adorable, though.