Donizetti: Lucia di Lammermoor / Netrebko, Beczala, Kwiecien, Metropolitan Opera

Customer Response

Wow!
I almost didn't purchase this based on some of the negative, nit-picking reviews I've seen here at Amazon. I own many other Lucias including Anna Moffo, Sutherland, Bonfadelli, Devia, Rancatore and Ciofi. Some of these are very good. But Netrebko's performance is something else again. She is indeed a Lucia for the ages. She has youth, vivacity, presence, sparkle, charisma, visually and aurally that delights the senses. This is full blown MET spectacular. Scenery, costumes, direction, sound, everything comes together in a gorgeous, iconic production. Don't let the nit-pickers dissuade you from owning and delighting in this gem!

A poor production, beautifully sung
"Lucia di Lammermoor" is a story set in the very early eighteenth-century, a story of the tragic results from a over-bearing brother's control over his sister. Updating it to the Victorian period and transforming it into a ghost story do an injustice to what it was meant to be.
Peter Gelb, in his new productions, seems to favor concept over opera. Clearly, Mary Zimmerman's concept of Lucia does not fit the concept of the opera.
Particularly annoying was the photographer's posturing his subjects during the sextet. It is a travesty for one of opera's grandest ensemble numbers to be used only as background music for a bit of comic business.
While not the best, this would be a worthy addition to any cd collection; but is a negative dvd.

MET not a home ground for Lucia di Lammermoor?
Seems that the best Lucias are not borne in the MET...
This production begins with some good prognostics, but gained less and less momentum as the story moves on, culminating in the big chaotic sextet scene.
The final bit of Edgardo singing by the grave with the ghost of Lucia approaching is perhaps the best bit that this production could offer.
I don't know if La Trebka is a coloratura or not - I am not an expert in this field. However, I have seen and heard her in much better performances in bel canto than this one, viz. the Bellini opera on Youtube with Joyce Didonato. Here, despite having the right sort of timbre, her Lucia failed to take flight both vocally and dramatically, despite all her effort. The first aria (or duet) is some what ordinary in that Netrebko failed to tackle the underlying psychological complexities of Lucia. Hers is a straight-laced portrayal. The inner struggles, the uncertainties, put in juxtaposition with her overwhelming love for Edgardo, are simply not there.
I tend also to agree that vocally this is not Netrebko's best performance. May be she has other nights when she sang better Lucias at the MET's production, but definitely not in this recording. Her runs are a bit approximate, and the high notes not really as secure as she would have them elsewhere.
The male leads fare much better. Kwiecien is a very evil Enrico, while Beczala is a very tragic Edgardo. Both singers are from Poland, it seems.
The staging aren't really that bad, with a Scottish countryside backdrop that befits the story well. It is only the direction that caused trouble:
why should Enrico and Lucia row on the floor? If Lucia is a child that readily engages in browls with her brother, she would have fled with Edgardo instead of submitting to the torture. Then, of course, the unwitting photographer that wasn't in the score - it throws some light on the mindset of the director - that this whole thing is JUST FOR SHOW. And that tells a lot.

Loved this
I saw this originally during the Live in HD presentation and loved it. Other people (more experienced than I, probably) may not like it all that much, but I think it was fantastic (much more enjoyable than the Joan Sutherland version I first saw). I loved the update to the Victorian period and the sextet in Act II just gave me chills (not a common experience for me).

Mariusz Kwiecien is now one of my favorite baritones, due to this role (and hopefully will maintain that in the Live in HD's Carmen). His voice, his acting, his looks... I think they fit the role really well, and I can really see him as brother to Netrebko's Lucia.

Anna Netrebko? I think she was wonderful, despite all the criticism she receives. Perhaps not the best ever, but I think she has the talent (and the looks, of course) to really draw new people into opera and get them hooked.

pretty good
This is a pretty good performance of the opera. The first Met version had Netrebko with Villazon. The latter had a very very bad night and soon afterward retired temporarily from singing. So the Met found a new tenor, really quite good, to match Netrebko. She is not the finest Lucia ever since her coloratura abilities are not of the first order, but she is good looking and sings very well in general. So I'd give this version a B+ rating.

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