a tragic descent into madness and grief

Donezetti's tragic three-act opera portrays one of opera's most haunting descents into anguished madness as a young woman is forced to marry that she simply does not love. Diana Damrau sings the role of the doomed Lucia, with Piotr Beczala returning to the role of her thwarted love interest, and baritone Brian Mulligan as Lucia's tyrannical brother. Based loosely on Sir Walter Scott's moving novel The Bride of Lammermoor, this celebrated opera is a dark look into the abyss of madness and unrequited love.

In feudal Scotland, father and son Normanno and Enrico are angrily trying to establish the identity of young Lucia's lover, who she meets in secret. When they discover that he is in fact their sworn enemy, they send Lucia away to marry somebody more politically favorable; her lover Edgardo swears vengeance upon her family for his thwarted attempts to marry her.

At a mysterious castle, Lucia is worn down by her family to accept the hand of Arturo after lying to her that Edgardo has married another woman; exhausted by their persistence, she signs the contract agreeing to marriage - only for Edgardo to storm in and discover that she is to be married. Without waiting for an explanation, he angrily leaves, leaving her distraught.

After the wedding, Lucia in grief and madness murders her new husband, leaving Enrico to feel remorse at his actions; she kills herself out of shame, desperate to escape her unhappiness, but what will happen when Edgardo receives the terrible news?