Donizetti: Lucie de Lammermoor

In 1835, Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor made its triumphant debut at the San Carlo in Naples. For its Parisian appearance four years later as Lucie de Lammermoor, the composer went much further than merely Gallicising the heroine's first name; he subjected the opera to a condensation in which Lucie became the only woman in the entire cast. Donizetti's orchestration remains largely the same, but the French influence is audible in new recitatives. This later version is no surrogate or mere abridgement, but, perhaps because of its greater concision, is more brutal and emotional than the original.