The versatile Romelia Lichtenstein in coloratura mode as Lucia

THE SONGBIRD: Romelia Lichtenstein was born in Bulgaria in 1962, but grew up in Germany. Her stage debut came early: when she was nine she sang Erster Knabe in "Die Zauberflöte." After vocal studies in Leipzig, she launched her career in Chemnitz singing Rosina, Sandrina, and the Hoffmann heroines. When she joined the company in Leipzig, she sang Zerlina, Fiordiligi, Pamina, Queen of the Night, and Mimi. In 1998 she began a long association with opera in Halle, first singing Cio-Cio San, then performing ten leading roles in Handel operas at the Halle Festival including Romila, Florinda, and Alcina. In 2012 the city of Halle named her Kammersängerin. Her foray into Italian roles progressed from Violetta and Lucia to Norma and Lucreza Borgia, from Abigaille and Leonora to Tosca and Adriana Lecouvreur. Lichtenstein has sung in Berlin, Bremen, Dresden, Göteborg, Graz, Metz, Stockholm, Stuttgart, Vienna, Weimar, and Wiesbaden.
THE MUSIC: Donizetti's "Lucia di Lammermoor" has become one of the quintessential operas for a coloratura soprano -- it's one of the most widely produced bel canto operas in the world and the title character is a benchmark role for this voice type. Donizetti composed it in 1835, which was a peak of his artistic and popular success -- Rossini had recently retired, Bellini had just died, and Verdi had not yet had his first premiere ("Oberto" in 1837). Based on Walter Scott's novel, the opera premiered in Naples. The plot in a nutshell: after being tricked into marrying a man she doesn't love, and lied to that her true love has betrayed her, Lucia loses her mind and murders the groom on her wedding night. The mentally unstable young woman appears in a bloodied gown and sings a long, complex, and haunting "mad scene" mixing delusion and grief that is a musically and dramatically innovative tour-de-force of bel canto vocalism and gripping tragedy. The primary section of the mad scene culminates in a long cadenza with a flute (and occasionally the glass harmonica). Apparently that wasn't enough warbling for one diva, so Donizetti succumbs the era's operatic conventions and gives Lucia even more to sing: a traditional cabaletta "Spargi d'amaro pianto."

[@tamerlan2677]

Nice!

[@YoannAuboyneau]

If this soprano's name wasn't mentioned, I could say that Simone Kermes was singing Lucia... The timbre is quite interesting!

[@williamparsons8535]

Interesting voice, very slow tempos. Who is the conductor?

[@songbirdwatcher]

I don’t know who is conducting.