Untitled

Radio Record, Volume IV, Issue 34, 6 March 1931, Page 1

OVERS. of grand opera will be delighted to learn. that included in "Se the studio concert pm" 8). to be presented by ° Signor Lucien

Cesaroni and his operatic company from 2YA_ on March 8 will be three scenes from Donizetti's famous "Lucia di Lammermoor." One of the scenes to be produced introduces what is possibly the greatest engemble of all opera-the ‘Sextette."? . Many music lovers who are not acquainted with the opera nevertheless know the beautiful melody and soaring climax of "Chi mi frena"

‘(What strange power o’er me prevailing"), which reveals the supreme heights reached by the genius of Donizetti. . The story of "Lucia di Lammermoor"’ is a simple one, though ; ending tragically. Donizetti, who, strange though it may seem, was a Scotsman, adapted it from Sir Walter Scott’s novel Lucy of Lammermoor."’

STRANGER is seen lurking about _ the grounds of Ldmmermoor. This is disquieting, for Sir Henry Ashton, who through black treachery has recently acquired the neighbouring Ravenswood __ estates, _-has many enemies, not least of them Sir Edgar Ravenswood. Norman, Sir Henry Ashton’s Captain of the Guard, directs his men to search the vaults beneath the ruins of old Ravenswood ‘Tower. Hardly have the men gone than Sir Henry himself appears, followed by the chaplain, Raymond. He ‘is troubled over the strange visitant, troubled over his own fate, and troubled over his sister Lucy, who has been behaving curiously since her mother’s death, and who has formed the habit of going daily to visit her grave. From Norman, Sir Henry learns that on these visits Lucy has been meeting the stranger and, furthermore, that this mysterious personage has rescued her from an angry bull by shooting the beast. As they speak of these things, the retainers come back, telling of a man.

who has met them near the ruined tower, ‘Pale and mute, with aspect daring,’’ clad in black and mounted upon a black charger. This is Edgar of Ravenswood. At the daily trysting place near a fountain in the Park Lucy waits for Edgar. She is accompan~ ied by her maid, Alice. Lucy is pale and distraught. ° She looks with dread at. the fountain, and she tells Alice a gruesome legend of avenswood who = stabbed his sweetheart beside it. She vows that .she herself has seen, in the dark waters, an apparition of

: the murdered woman, who ' has warned her against her present lover. : Then Edgar arrives, a sombre figure with his melancholy attire, his black-plumed cavalier hat, his cloak of sable. It is to tell her that this is their last meeting, for he has been ordered: to France. He begs permission to go to her brother, to volunteer to forget and forgive, and to claim her hand'in marriage; but Lucy knows this is impossible. And whv? he asks. aneweorine himeeclf4

because her brother still nourishes hatred in his bosm, even though he has killed Edgar’s father and ursurped ‘ his estates. — Lucy’s lover is inflamed with passion, and she tries vainly to check it; but he tells how his love for her has made him give up all dreams of vengeance. He tears himself from Lucy’s arms, leaving the half-fainting girl to be consoled by the sympathetic Alice. In supposing that Henry Ashton’s opposition is a matter of hatred, Edgar is wrong. As a matter of fact, Henry Ashton is in desperate straits because of the part he has taken in a_ rebellion against King William I. His only chance of escape is. to wed Lucy to Lord Arthur Bucklaw, beneath whose domination he now lives. To make Lucy break off her connection with Ravenswood, he has resorted to guile. He reads all the correspondence that passed between the hovers, and he now has a letter forged in Ravenswood’s hand-writing which seems to prove beyond doubt that Lucy is betrayed, her lover having deserted her. The girl is almost dumb-stricken (Cid. page 2)

Lucia di Lammermoor

(Continued from page 1.) wed. Lord Arthur. The unequal struggle between them is the more unequal because with | Henry Ashton haste is necessary. Preparations for the wedding ceremony are already made, Lord Arthur approaching while Lucy is kept helpless by reason of the forged ‘note. She miserably consents to the sacrifice. In a great hall of the castle, where’ the walls are hung with the trophies of hunt and battle, a great concourse of people is assembled to witness the wedding of Lucy of Lammermoor with Lord Arthur Bucklaw. The knights and ladies sing a gay chorus of welcome, but the bride is so pale and agitated that their gaiety rings false. Sir Henry excuses her conduct to Lord Arthur on the ground that she still mourns for her mother. Lucy is escorted to a table where a notary is preparing the marriage papers. .. ‘.. Pale to the lips and almost fainting, she is supported by her maid, Alice, andthe chaplain, Raymond. With trembling hand she signs the document’ which makes her Lady Arthur BuckJaw. No sooner has she set down the pen than a stranger enters the room. All eyes are turned upon him, in fear and amazement. HEidgar of Ravenswood, sword in hand, pistol in belt, stalks boldly toward the table. _.. Such a dramatic moment might have inspired a far less powerful composer than Donizetti to produce a masterscene, but he has made it ever-memor-able with his immortal sextet, "Chi me.frena" ("What Restrains Me?’). After it reaches its climax and dies out in lingering tones, others find voice ‘and many bid the stranger begone. But Henry Ashton faces his enemy with drawn sword, and the two are yeady for life or death. Raymond restrains them, bidding both in ‘Heaven’s name sheath their weapons. QGoldly Ashton asks Ravenswood the

réason of the yisit, and be displays the marriage contract. | ae Ravenswood, refusing to believe his senses, then turns to Lucy for confirmation. With her eyes fixed upon him she tremblingly nods her head in assent. In a furious ragé, Edgar of Ravenswood seizes the paper, tears it: ‘to pieces, flings it at the horror-strick-en girl and rushes from the castle. Luey stares after him with unseeing eyes. What is left the girl? THAT night,. as poor Ravenswood " .broods over his misfortunes, 2 horseman rides up, dismounts and enters the tower. It proves to be

Sir Henry, who brings a challenge. They agree to fight to the death when morning arrives. Henry Ashton departs and Ravenswood wanders to the burial ground of his ancestors, where, beside the grave of his murdered father, he finds consolation in the thought that death on the morrow may elim him. ,

DANWHILE at the castle the "lights: barn in the windows and the peasants. and domestics make merry. © ’ Suddenly the laughter ceases and the song dies upon their lips. Raymond tells.them that Lucy has gone insane atid ‘that she stands in the bridal chamber with a bloody sword above the. corpse of her husband, "Oh! dire misfortune," sing: they. Scarcely has the full story been heard by the guests than Lucy herself appears, pale and lovely, robed ‘in white,: her hair loose upon her ‘shoulders. ‘In her eyes there is seen a strange unnatural light, and — her face wears the tender half-puzzled ex-

pression of one who strives- to recall a dream. WPxictly as the nerves become paralysed. when pain is inflicted beyond the bearing point, so, too, the tortured brain refuses to suffer an agony too‘prolonged. Lucy is mad indeed, but she is happy in her madness, for she believes herself with her lover. Then comes the famous "Mad Scene" at the conclusion of which she falls insensible and is carried to her room by Alice and Raymond -as the curtain descends. UT as the night wears on, the lights still winking gaily from the castle at Lammermoor,. convey. to the’ watcher who stands amid the graves of the Ravenswoods no knowledge of these tragic events. Edgar’s only desire is to find peace in the grave, and he calls upon "that faithless woman" to give it a thought as she passes by leaning on the arm of her husband. Yet even as he, in selfpity, heaps reproaches. upon the absent Lucy, he remarks a train of mourners coming from the castle. His intention had been to cast himself upon his adversary’s sword, but he soon learns that Henry, filled with remorse, has left Scotland never to set foot again upon its unhappy shores. Then he is told of Lucy’s madness and of her love for himself... She. lies, they tell him, in the castle at the point of death. And even as they rehearse the story the sound of a tolling bell brings’ word that Lucy’s gentle soul has passed. As the dawn comes Hdgar of Ravenswood sings his own dying prayerthat his sout may join that of his beloved in realms remote from the gloomy halls Lammermoor. ‘There

is none of that momentary hope, that belief. in misfortune, whieh withholds many a man, similarly circumstanced, from putting hands to his life. The tolling bell has not lied. Hdgar Ravenswood draws a dagger from his belt and, despite the efforts of Raymond to prevent him, stabs himself and so speeds forth his soul to that eternity from whence beckons his beloved Lucy, |