Famed Diana Damrau Interpretation Headed To DVD
By Francisco SalazarDiana Damrau’s “Lucia di Lammermoor” will be released on DVD.
The 2016 Royal Opera House production by Katie Mitchell, which was met with mixed reception, is scheduled for release in October according to Amazon. The opera also stars Charles Castronovo as Edgardo, Ludovic Tezier as Enrico and Kwangchul Youn as Raimondo. Daniel Oren conducts this production.
When the production first opened critics noted, “Mitchell consequently plays down the political background and reimagines the opera’s heroine as a self-determining, independent woman destroyed by male conservatism and aggression.” The production obtained much publicity for its sexual depiction of Edgardo and Lucia’s duet and for its bloody mad scene.
Regarding Damrau’s performance critics stated, “Lucia is one of Damrau’s signature roles. The ‘mad scene’ makes almost incredible demands, of precision, detail, concentration. Damrau met them, despite some weakness at the stratospheric top. The audience watched, relieved that there was no grisly incident elsewhere to upstage her.”
The release marks Damrau’s second “Lucia” for Erato. Her first came in a CD release from a 2013 performance. That CD also starred Tezier alongside Joseph Calleja and Nicola Teste. This upcoming release will mark her sixth DVD for Erato.