A tale of two performances.

On March 18, audiences at the Teatro San Carlo experienced a performance of “Lucia di Lammermoor” sans the iconic mad scene. Fast forward three days and the March 21st performance was the site of a encore during the scene.

After singing the first part of the mad scene, soprano Jessica Pratt, who was filling in for Rosa Feola, received a huge ovation and decided to encore the cadenza portion of the aria obtaining yet another huge ovation.

The news comes after the company was forced to eliminate the mad scene from its March 18 performance when Feola fell ill and could not sing the final act. There was no cover in the building to finish the performance and as a result, the third act was performed without the famed scene.

Pratt is a well-known interpreter of Lucia who has performed the role over 100 times at the Metropolitan Opera, Teatro alla Scala, Teatro San Carlo, Opera Australia, Teatro La Fenice, and Teatro Regio di Torino, among others.

Pratt joined a cast that included Alexander Köpecki as Raimondo, Mattia Olivieri as Enrico, and René Barbera as Edgardo.

Feola will return to the production for the final performance on March 24.

Read Related Stories 

• No Covers: Mad Scene Eliminated from Teatro San Carlo’s ‘Lucia di Lammermoor’ Performance Due to Soprano’s Illness
• Cast Change: Jessica Pratt Steps into Teatro San Carlo’s ‘Lucia di Lammermoor’