Blogger Night at the Vancouver Opera; Lucia di Lammermoor

I have just now set up at the bloggers table for Vancouver Opera’s opening night of Lucia di Lammermoor. I have to admit that I was following the Opera Ninja on Twitter the other night so I consider myself forewarned – this is not a happy love story.

Wow. A guy just walked by and I couldn’t help but over hear him talking on his mobile phone. Why is this noteworthy? Because he was talking very loudly. And he was saying, “I’m going to get some pussy from a f%@&ing brunette!” Not your traditional Vancouver Opera chat….

We are back at the table now. Finished our backstage tour. The stage is so simple!

The set for Lucia is rented from the San Francisco opera company and was brought in on a Friday night, installed on Sunday and ready for the first piano rehearsal on Monday. Terry Harper, Director of Production for Vancouver Opera told us that this stage is one of the simplest he has had the pleasure of installing. He also said that he has previously worked with this set in Omaha, Nebraska or some other far-flung exotic locale.

At this point I am going to break off to enjoy some of the opera ambiance. I will endeavour to return at intermission to post some mid-opera thoughts but I cannot make any promises seeing as I do not have an aisle seat. Ack…the horror! A mid-row seat! I will stay calm and carry on.

Oh before I go…when they said there is a family feud in the opera, I had no idea it would involve this type of feuding;

I am now sure that this is not going to end well. More at intermission. The bells are tolling…

Intermission….THIS is opera the way that Vancouver loves it. Soaring voices, a forbidden love, families feuding, marriage promises made in the forest with all of nature and God as a witness…the audience roars its approval at every break.

I reveled in the politics of Nixon in China. I appreciated the struggle of moving a parent from their own home into an assisted living situation in Lillian Alling. I simply love Lucia di Lammermoor for the beauty of the voices and the love that is sworn between two beautiful young lovers. A love that we know can never be.

So now that my emotions have settled a little. The production of Lucia does not waste a moment. Within fifteen minutes of the opening we know that Enrico has fallen on hard times and his fortunes have turned sour. We know that he has a sworn enemy called Edgardo. And that Enrico’s gorgeous sister, Lucia, is in love with Edgardo. And to make things one more level of ridiculously unresolvable, Enrico has promised his sister’s hand in marriage to Arturo. Oiygud.