Buffalo Opera Company Announces Innovative Staging of Lucia di Lammermoor
Sotto Voce has announced it will present Gaetano Donizetti’s masterwork of Italian opera, Lucia di Lammermoor, on Friday, March 28, at 7 p.m. and Sunday, March 30, at 5 p.m. at First Presbyterian Church of Buffalo, 1 Symphony Circle.
Under the visionary leadership of Stage Director Alex Huddleston and musical direction of master bel canto pedagogue and internationally acclaimed tenor Arturo Spinetti, Lucia di Lammermoor will be presented in a bold new light, featuring athletic vocals in an immersive and imaginative staging. The stunning Romanesque architecture of the First Presbyterian church will provide an ornate and expansive staging area; by moving the players throughout the hall over the course of the show, the audience will get to experience the show’s visceral vocals and fiery drama in an intimate way. A spoken role written for this production will serve as a comedic and insightful narrative voice. This character – a re-imagining of Walter Scott, the author of the novel The Bride of Lammermoor on which the opera was based – will clue the audience into the subtleties of the drama through interjections in contemporary English.
Set in 17th century Scotland, Lucia di Lammermoor tells a “Romeo and Juliet”-style saga of warring families and star-crossed lovers. The drama culminates in the famous “mad scene” – quoted in such popular culture references as the movie The Fifth Element – and features some of opera’s most intense and expressive vocals. The starring role of Lucia will be sung by soprano and Sotto Voce founder Jessie Downs; the other lead roles of Edgardo – Lucia’s lover – and Enrico – her controlling brother – will be played by tenor Jax Hassler and baritone Stephen Walley, two highly trained and accomplished young vocalists active in the New York metro area. They will be joined by a supporting cast of both local and visiting artists and accompanied by a resourceful instrumental chamber ensemble.
Sotto Voce is a collectively run opera company based in Buffalo. Sotto Voce’s mission is to celebrate the power of the human voice, collaborate across artistic disciplines, and present music drama in innovative performance contexts that reimagine familiar stories and bring to life new ones. Its repertoire consists of both canonical and new dramatic vocal works and its performances feature both local and national talent.