Renata Scotto takes on ‘Lucia’ in Thessaloniki
Renata Scotto, a living legend in the opera world, is directing Gaetano Donizetti’s «Lucia di Lammermoor» for the Thessaloniki Concert Hall’s first opera production this season. This landmark work of the bel canto opens tonight with additional performances on Sunday, and on October 6 and 9 (The production features Greek supertitles.) A dramatic opera balancing the rational and the irrational, the story originally takes place at the end of the 17th century. In this production, however, the plot has been moved to the 19th century in order to suit the music. The decision belongs to Scotto, along with the idea of broken mirrors as stage props, a reference to the shattered ties between the two families. «Don’t expect to see something traditional,» said Scotto of her second directorial attempt at the Thessaloniki Concert Hall, speaking at a recent press conference. (Last year, the diva had directed Puccini’s «Madame Butterfly.») Salvatore Cammarano’s libretto is based on the romantic novelette by Sir Walter Scott. The story unfolds at a Scottish castle where Lord Enrico Ashton (a baritone) is eager to see his sister Lucia (a soprano) marry Lord Arturo Bucklaw (a tenor). Lucia, on the other hand, is in love with Sir Edgardo di Ravenswood, the sworn enemy of her brother. In the end, however, the love will be destroyed by hatred. At the Thessaloniki Concert Hall, the cast is led by Roberto Servile as Lord Enrico Ashton, Elena Mosuc as Miss Lucia, Gioacchino Li Vigni as Sir Edgardo di Ravenswood, Yiannis Economou as Lord Arturo Bucklaw, Dimitris Kavrakos as Raimondo Bidebent, Maria Vlachopoulou as Alisa and Dimitris Nalbantis as Normanno. The Thessaloniki State Symphony Orchestra will be conducted by Francesco Maria Colombo.
