DVO opens summer season with ‘Lucia’

Performances continue this weekend

By TOM KANE

NARROWSBURG, NY — A golden moment, one that rarely take place on any opera stage, occurred Saturday night during the Delaware Valley Opera’s production of “Lucia di Lammermoor.”

At the end of Act II of Donizetti’s opera, the sheer beauty and resonance of the voices and the swell of the orchestra left me nearly breathless as the curtain fell. It took me several minutes to recover.

The occasion in the opera was the famed sextet that has captivated audiences of opera for over 100 years. It is one of the greatest ensemble pieces every written.

Especially remarkable about the piece is its coupling of harmonious sound with a completely inharmonious subject matter.

The widely popular and often produced opera is Donizett’s rendition of Sir Walter Scott’s historical novel, “The Bride of Lammermoor.”

Lucia Ashton, sung with remarkable precision and conviction by soprano Heather Connolly—she looked the part and conveyed Lucia’s nervous emotions quite well—loves Edgardo Ravenswood, who is a member of a rival family, much hated by Lucia’s brother, Enrico.

Enrico, sung by baritone Mark Fitzgerald Wilson with a rich resonant vocal quality, hears that his sister, Lucia, is in love with his enemy, Edgardo.

He curses his sister because he wants her to marry a rich gentleman, Arturo, who will save the family from poverty and disgrace.

Earlier in the opera, Lucia and Edgardo exchange vows in a memorable love duet and, though not yet married in the Church, consider themselves man and wife.

For some reason not explained in the opera, Edgardo, sung brilliantly by tenor Brian Cheney, has to fight in France and must leave her.

Then, in the second act, Lucia’s nefarious brother intercepts Edgardo’s love letters to his sister and supplants them with forged letters that tell of Edgardo’s fictitious infidelity.

Despondent and seemingly rejected, Lucia agrees to marry Arthuro in order to save her family, stating that signing the marriage agreement was “signing my death warrant.”

At the height of the marriage scene, who comes in but (you know who) Edgardo, who has heard about the marriage and wants to claim his bride.

It is at this point that the sextet unfolds.

While the rest of the production doesn’t match the brilliance of this scene, there were numerous moments all throughout the opera that pleased my ear and kept me interested.

Though not in a major role, bass Alan Andrews did a masterful job, singing the role of Raimondo, the Ashton family’s priest.

The rest of the cast—Alisa sung by Kathryn Alice Tate, Normanno sung by Jay Winston and Arturo sung by Ed Turner—did remarkably well in portraying their characters, especially in the famed mad scene when Lucia loses it completely after killing her husband.

Add to that the excellent chorus—Sandy Brandman, Judy Costello, Christa Damaris, MaryEllen Jockle, Lois Reese and Lindley Wood—who did not have as easy a job as most choruses do in most operas.

The opera, sung in the original Italian, was rendered easy to understand by way of the super-titles explaining the action.

Maestro Ron DeFesi, who brilliantly conducted the 11-piece orchestra and directed the staging, made the night a memorable one for any opera or music lover.

Lucia will be performed again Saturday, July 17 at 8:00 p.m. and Sunday, July 18 at 3:00 p.m. at the Tusten Theatre in Narrowsburg. For tickets and information call 845-252-7576.