I guess my clean slate from Yom Kippur must be working in my favor, because for the two days in a row afterwards, I've seen two spectacular productions in a row. Tonight was opening night at the Met - celebrated with their new production of "Lucia di Lammermoor," directed by Mary Zimmerman and starring Natalie Dessay. And every aspect of it is just absolutely brilliant. I think I saw the old Met production twice, and I don't remember really loving it either time. I mean, the Mad scene is always a showstopper, but the rest of it I think used to leave me a little cold. Well, not so in this new production that puts the THEATRE back into musical theatre. Thank goodness, this is not one of those bizarre anemic new productions that seem to en vogue nowadays. Visually at least, this is a fairly traditional looking production, with beautiful sets and gorgeous lighting. Thanks to Zimmerman's direction, there is very little of just plain old 'stand and sing' going on. I remember in the old Met production, at the end of Act II, all of the soloists would just stand at the edge of the stage and sing. Which was fine. But in this production, Zimmerman decides to make them sing while being posed for a wedding photo. A little gimmicky? Perhaps. But it's more fun to watch. I will say that the one time when Zimmerman's ADD staging may have gone a little too far was at the end of Act II, Scene I: she has the servants come on and start setting the stage for the second scene, while Lucia and Raimondo are still singing. The problem was that I was so interested in what the scene change that I forgot to pay attention to what they were singing. I was watching the servants fold some curtains, with some pretty music in the background, and then look down and see new Met titles to read. That was probably the only time it really bothered me, and the only quibble I had with the production. I'm certain purists would have many more complaints with Zimmerman's other daring departures, but I'm most certainly not a purist.
As for the performers, well Dessay was simply brilliant. Brilliant singing, brilliant acting. Just brilliant. The whole cast was really excellent, but my goodness that ovation after the Mad Scene just went on and on and on (as Lucia was slowly carried up the stairs...).
Ooh, and a special feature of this production is that the Met found someone to play a glass harmonica for the mad scene. It sounds sort of like a ghostly toy piano. Really chilling to listen to, and it added so much to the scene. I can't imagine a flute (apparently the usual substitute instrument) giving anywhere near the same effect.
Anyway, I think tickets are scarce for this production... and the reviews haven't even come out yet... so you may have to sell your second child (your first presumably already sold for a ticket to "Lear"), but it's worth it. First thing tomorrow, I'm going to figure go through and mark my calendar with dates that I can buy standing room to see this again.
What a way to start the season!
