"LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR," UTAH OPERA, Capitol Theatre, Saturday; additional performances Wednesday and Friday (355-2787)
Gaetano Donizetti's "Lucia di Lammermoor" has returned to the stage of the Capitol Theatre for the first time since 1997.
Based on a novel by Walter Scott, "Lucia" is a lurid tale of love, intrigue and betrayal. In love with Edgardo, Lucia is forced by her brother Enrico to marry Arturo, who will bring money into the family and save Enrico from ruin.
Believing Edgardo has found a new lover, Lucia reluctantly agrees to the marriage. Edgardo appears shortly after Lucia has signed the marriage contract and denounces her infidelity. This is too much for Lucia to bear. She goes insane and stabs Arturo on their wedding night.
In the meantime, Edgardo vows to kill himself rather than live without Lucia. The minister Raimondo, Lucia's friend and confidant, enters and tells him she has died. Lucia's body is brought in. Grief stricken, Edgardo stabs himself saying, "God in heaven unite us."
One of the staples in any opera house, "Lucia" is also one of the most celebrated works of the bel canto repertoire. It requires singers possessing vocal prowess and finely crafted expressiveness, as well as exceptional acting skills. And, fortunately, this production boasts such a cast in the leading roles.
Soprano Sarah Coburn, making her Utah Opera debut, is an exquisite Lucia. She sings her demanding role with a naturalness that puts her near the top of her profession. Her voice is light enough to bring the expressiveness needed to her part while powerful enough to convey the intense emotions. And as an actor, she brings a convincing reality to the role.
Lucia sings one of the most celebrated mad scenes in opera, and Coburn brings credibility to it. At Saturday's opening night performance, she brought depth and feeling to the scene. In particular, the extended cadenza with flute obbligato (played by Utah Symphony principal Erich Graf) was exquisite.
Local favorite Robert Breault was a marvelous Edgardo. He, too, brought feeling and emotional energy to his role. His strong tenor has the right qualities for bel canto roles. His singing was lyrical yet forceful, and in duets with Lucia his singing was both passionate and wonderfully expressive.
Baritone Michael Chioldi (also making his Utah Opera debut) as Enrico and bass Kurt Link as Raimondo were both wonderful. Chioldi brought a menacing urgency to his role, while Link put compassion and feeling into his character.
In the lesser roles are tenor James Miller (Normanno), mezzo-soprano Jamie van Eyck (Alisa) and tenor Aaron Pegram (Arturo).
The Utah Opera Chorus sang, as one has come to expect, with lyrical beauty and passionate intensity.
Members of the Utah Symphony, under the baton of conductor Hal France, played wonderfully. And France's pacing throughout was taut and on the mark.
E-mail: ereichel@desnews.com