It is the morning after opening night of Vancouver Opera’s Lucia di Lammermoor. I felt the need to post a few post-opera thoughts.
First, the Vancouver opera crowded needed Lucia di Lammermoor. Vancouver Opera pushed the creative envelope with Nixon in China and again with Lillian Alling. With Lucia di Lammermoor Vancouver Opera returned to the more traditional. Performed in Italian with soaring voices and buoyed by the chorus, this was opera done the way Vancouver Opera audiences crave. And done perfectly.
Eglise Gutierrez, the coloratura soprana completes a haunting performance of Lucia`s decent into madness and finally death in Act III while the supporting chorus looks on in fascinated horror. Gutierrez`s performance will be remembered by Vancouver audiences for years to come. Simply put, it was breath-taking.
And then after Lucia’s journey into madness is complete, we are forced to witness Edgardo, Lucia’s true love, (performed by Michael Fabiano) also descend into the darkest of places before succumbing to his broken heart.
The Vancouver audience roared their approval when the final curtain fell. When the lead performers returned to the stage, the Vancouver audience leapt to their feet in the most spontaneous standing ovation I have ever see. The Vancouver audience needed this performance and unequivocally showed their love for the performance. Well done. Very well done.
The bottom line; if you are going to see one Vancouver Opera performance this season, make sure it is Lucia di Lammermoor. This is the opera of the season.
The photos used in this post, shot by Tim Matheson, are courtesy of Vancouver Opera.
Comments
3 responses to “Lucia di Lammermoor; the Opera of the Season”
[…] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Stacey Robinsmith, Stacey Robinsmith. Stacey Robinsmith said: Eglise Gutierrez makes @VancouverOpera come alive. An exquisite and MUST see performance http://staceyrobinsmith.com/?p=1633 […]
Your post makes me curious. Being a non-opera person and having just seen Lillian Alling I have no intention of going to Lucia di Lammermoor. However, it makes me wonder what I would do with the comparison between the 2 operas. Obviously, they are very, very different. Would I have soared as you did, or would I be annoyed by all that blasted singing? The Vancouver Opera Society should thank you for putting a chink in my opera-cynic armour. Maybe I will cast off my peasant ways eventually.
Hi Stacey,
Thanks again for being a part of our Blogger Night at the Opera!
I’m super thrilled that you and Caragh had a wonderful time at Lucia di Lammermoor. It really was a beautiful night of opera.
See you at La clemenza di Tito.
Happy holidays to you and the family.
Ling Chan, Social Media Manager
Vancouver Opera