Trivia / Lucia di Lammermoor

• All-Star Cast: As Lucia, Edgardo, Enrico, and Raimondo...
  • Audio Recordings (Italian version):
    • 1953, conducted by Tullio Serafin: Maria Callas, Giuseppe Di Stefano, Tito Gobbi, and Raffaele Arié.
    • 1955, conducted by Herbert von Karajan: Maria Callas, Giuseppe Di Stefano, Rolando Panerai, and Nicola Zaccaria.
    • 1957, conducted by Erich Leinsdorf: Roberta Peters, Jan Peerce, Philip Maero, and Giorgio Tozzi.
    • 1965, conducted by Georges Prêtre: Anna Moffo, Carlo Bergonzi, Mario Sereni, and Ezio Flagello.
    • 1970, conducted by Thomas Schippers: Beverly Sills, Carlo Bergonzi, Piero Cappuccilli, and Justino Diáz.
    • 1971, conducted by Richard Bonynge: Joan Sutherland, Luciano Pavarotti, Sherrill Milnes, and Nicolai Ghiaurov.
    • 1983, conducted by Nicola Rescigno: Edita Gruberová, Alfredo Kraus, Renato Bruson, and Robert Lloyd.
  • Video Recordings (Italian version):
    • 1971, conducted Carlo Felice Cillario: Anna Moffo, Lajos Kozma, Guilio Fioravanti, and Paolo Washington.
    • 1982, conducted by Richard Bonynge at the Met Opera: Joan Sutherland, Alfredo Kraus, Pablo Elvira, and Paul Plishka.
  • Audio Recordings (French version):
    • 2002, conducted by Evelino Pidò: Natalie Dessay, Roberto Alagna, Ludovic Tézier, and Nicolas Cavallier.
  • Video Recordings (French version):
    • 2002, conducted by Evelino Pidò at the Opéra National de Lyon: Patrizia Ciofi, Roberto Alagna, Ludovic Tézier, and Nicolas Cavallier.
• Breakthrough Hit: This opera was a huge success upon its premiere at Naples in 1835, and it established Donizetti as a well-known and successful opera composer. Other factors that helped were Rossini's retirement, Bellini's death, and a large European fascination with Scotland's history and culture (particularly the many feuds and legends).
• Cut Song: For many years almost all productions cut an aria for Raimondo, in which he persuades Lucia to marry Arturo, and a duet where Enrico challenges Edgardo to a duel. Starting in the mid-20th century it became more common to include these numbers on recordings and in some productions.
• Referenced by...: The first part of "Il dolce suono" is used as the first part of the "Diva Dance" from The Fifth Element.
• Star-Making Role: The role of Lucia became a signature role for the late Australian soprano Joan Sutherland in 1960, and has also become a signature role for other sopranos such as Greek soprano Maria Callas, French sopranos Lily Pons and Natalie Dessay, South Korean soprano Sumi Jo, and American soprano Beverly Sills.
• What Could Have Been: The original scoring for the Mad Scene, particularly the aria "Il dolce suono", was for a glass harmonica and soprano. But for the longest of times, a flute was used instead for practical reasons. But more recent performances at famous opera houses have started using the glass harmonica as intended, and this includes the Met Opera, Teatro La Scala, Santa Fe Opera, and the Bayerische Staatsoper.