Lucia di Lammermoor

There actually was a DVD made from this Italian film. Unfortunately the original production was rather crude, and the quality of both the picture, and particularly the mono(?) sound, is fairly poor; plus on top of that the DVD-transfer is overly-compressed for no good reason. The English sub-titles are large, white, and grainy-looking.

I know nothing about how this originally got made, but I wonder if it was somehow related to the Italian TV show with which Moffo was associated at the time. Its strictly for die-hard fans of this particular opera or singer. The attractive Moffo was around 37 at the time, and photographs very well. All the filming was done in and around an actual old castle, which lends atmosphere; however at the same time there are very few "supernumeraries" or choruses around, giving the whole production a remarkably under-populated feeling. For example in the "mad scene" she starts out coming down a hallway into a large room with only a few guys standing around dressed-up as guards; then she moves outside to where she runs around in a graveyard, and finally expires on a lawn near a cliff.

Moffo's singing seemed somewhat more mezzo-like to me, rather than that of a coloratura soprano. She quite noticeably bypasses the highest notes of the arias made famous by Callas, Sutherland, et al. A few times she even hits them a full octave lower.

While I was watching this, I was wishing that Zeffirelli had filmed a "Lucia" with Teresa Stratas; it would have been fun to see a sumptuous production with her ripping into this role for the camera.

For me the best Lucia Di Lammermoor productions are the ones from 1983 with Sutherland and Kraus and 1982 with Ricciarelli and Carreras, with June Anderson having the most effective Mad scene. And I love the 1971 recording with Sutherland and Pavarotti. This Lucia on film is good, but for me not among the best.

My problems with the film were with the sound, which at times was static and muffled, the picture quality which was rather grainy and some of the acting particularly with Edgardo is stolid with the Sextet perhaps needing more conflict and pathos, it shows in the singing but not so much in the acting.

That said, it is photographed well, the locations are grand and very effective especially the castle and the costumes are stunning. The music is magnificent no problem there, the orchestra play with power and the conducting suitably stylish and genteel.

Anna Moffo is great as Lucia. Her voice is wonderful, she is beautiful and very photogenic and although her dubbing is not always consistent she is a good actress. The Mad scene is perhaps lacking the eerie sleepwalking quality I have seen with Sutherland and especially Anderson, but I have to give credit and say that Moffo as always sings and acts it very well with the psychological troubles, vulnerability and anguish definitely evident.

Lajos Kozma is suitably ardent and dashing. While he is sometimes stolid and starts off rather tight and nasal, he warms up significantly as the film progresses and his final scene is very touching.Guilio Fiorovanti is for me the best actor in the film, and as the scheming albeit sympathetic Enrico he sings powerfully. Paolo Washington is good as Raimondo.

All in all, good if not quite the ultimate Lucia. 7/10 Bethany Cox