Gatchina Palace becomes Scottish castle

On 21 July, the Opera for Everyone festival will present «Lucia di Lammermoor» on the parade ground in front of the Gatchina Palace, inspired by Walter Scott«s novel «The Bride of Lammermoor». The action takes place in Scotland during the reign of Queen Anne.

The world premiere of this bel canto masterpiece took place in 1835 at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples. In St. Petersburg, the opera was first heard in 1840 on the stage of the Stone Theatre (Kamenny Theatre). Interest in the work was fueled by performances of the title role by such legends as Maria Callas and Joan Sutherland.

The libretto shifted the emphasis from the novel«s political motives to a love drama. According to the plot, the main character is secretly engaged to her brother»s enemy, who by deception forces her to marry a wealthy lord. As a result, Lucia goes mad and kills her husband on the wedding night, and her beloved stabs himself at her coffin.

The production is directed by Filipp Razenkov and Yulia Goltsova. The Symphony Orchestra of the F. I. Shalyapin Musical Theatre, conducted by Fabio Mastrangelo, will perform the opera. The leading roles went to Alikhan Beisekov, Nazia Amineva, Sergey Aleshchenko, and Dmitry Grigoriev-Kan.

The performance starts at 19:00. Admission is free, age restriction 6+.