Lucia di Lammermoor for Shutdown Era

Misery loves company. Maybe cliché. But the fact is that watching the torment of a young girl forced into an unwanted marriage, albeit only on stage, helped alleviate the tension on the 34th day of the government shutdown and fear of the misery it could produce.  Maryland Lyric Opera's Young Artists Institute presented Donizetti's opera Lucia di Lammermoor at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center at the University of Maryland, College Park. In the opera,  a sister is used and manipulated by her brother in the name of the family's honor, something more important than her. It ended tragically. Some 800.000 government workers have been used and manipulated in the name of a greater goal, something more important than their livelihood. We hope it won't end tragically.

Lucia is based on Sir Walter Scott's romantic novel The Bride of Lammermoor set in the 17th-century Scotland and, according to some sources, on a real life event. Lucia is in love with Edgardo, a young man from a rival clan, while her brother is arranging a marriage for her to save himself and the family name from ruin. She is bullied, threatened, betrayed and coerced to the point of exhaustion. But only when she is convinced there is nothing left to live for, she succumbs.

Three hundred plus years after Lucy of Lammermoor (or Janet Darlymple, whose story inspired Scott) millions of young girls worldwide are equally forced to marry for the benefit of the family, often before reaching adulthood. They are controlled, bullied and threatened at what is supposed to be their home, but feels more like a prison. If they manage to flee, they are hounded, caught and beaten into submission, or disposed of. If they do reach freedom, they are disowned.

I am not talking only about Saudi Arabia, Pakistan or Afghanistan. A new bestselling memoir, "Educated" by Tara Westover, reminds us that the United States is no exception. So we applaud young Saudi Rahaf al-Qunun, whose escape was successful and whose future in Canada will be in her own hands, her mistakes her own, and her success also her own.

Maeve Höglund as Lucia and Yi Li as Edgardo in MDLO's production of Lucia di Lammermoor

Maryland Lyric Opera could have moved Lucia out of Scotland - such transfers are common in new opera productions. But it chose not to, despite a large number of Asians in the cast.
In the end, it may have been the best decision. The performance turned out to be surprisingly convincing for a lesser known company and mostly unknown cast.

In my view, the relationship between Lucia and her brother is central to the opera, not the tragic love story. If the two singers portraying the Ashton siblings are weak, the performance is doomed to fail. MDLO's Lucia, Maeve Höglund was utterly captivating, once she overcame initial self-consciousness. By the time she reached the famous "mad scene", immortalized by Lily Pons, Maria Callas and Joan Sutherland, she really let go, while retaining control of her voice and precision of her delivery. Höglund was a thrilling Lucia.

SeungHyeon Baek as Lucia's brother Enrico had a commanding stage presence due mainly to his powerful baritone and expressive vocal delivery. In terms of acting, his facial expression did not change at all at any point in the evening. Perhaps it was a deliberate effort to show the brother's insensitivity. But when Lucia breaks down, Enrico expresses remorse, as well as fear for his future. Some of this should reflect in the performer's face.

Yi Li's Edgardo was no match to Höglund's Lucia. He visibly and audibly struggled with the high notes and with the Italian language. "L'alma innamorata" from one of his two final arias sounded like "l'arma innamorata." He has a lot of work still to do to improve his technique so he can inhabit his role more naturally.

Second act sextet, Lucia di Lammermoor

Bass Wei Wu was a remarkable Raimondo. In addition to his ringing voice, he made a good effort at acting. The clumsiness in his last act encounter with Yi Li is more likely an omission in directing, than in Wei's acting. Instead of trying to prevent Edgardo from stabbing himself, Wei's Raimondo stands right next to the desperate man and does nothing but call him "sciagurato."

My personal favorite was Roy Hage, a unique Arturo. Hage stepped on the stage with the swagger of a proud young man, with a conquering smile and puffed up chest. He strutted around like a peacock, shaking hands with men and nodding to women, secure in his welcome. In most productions Arturo comes off as an insufferable snob or just a bore, but this one was charming and likable. I am looking forward to seeing him again.

Yang Chen was a promising Normanno and Daiyao Zhong was a gentle and caring Alisa. She also would benefit from some additional Italian lessons.

The choir and orchestra under the baton of Maestro Louis Salemno did a wonderful job. Kudos to the harp and piccolo.

The set and costumes were as good as anything you see on the Kennedy Center's opera stage, except for the shoes. They were clearly from the present era and did not match the costumes.

One of Donizetti's most successful works, Lucia has two crucial pieces - the second act sextet and Lucia's mad scene. The first is a climactic confrontation between the feuding families, which needs to rouse the audience and keep it on its toes. The second requires a soprano with the stamina to deliver the long aria with a fresh voice after singing and acting throughout the first two acts. In addition to that, the interpreter needs to project the various emotional stages of the maddened girl and gain compassion.

MDLO triumphed in both and Thursday's Lucia can be considered a resounding success for the company of mostly young singers with limited stage experience.

Keep up the good work!