A concert version of the famous bel canto masterpiece, Lucia di Lammermoor was performed on 11 March in the State Opera of Prague under the baton of newly appointed musical director, Andriy Yurkevych.
The main roles were played by Czech soprano Lucie Kaňková, Italian tenor Matteo Desole and Slovak baritone Pavol Kubáň.
Donizetti’s iconic piece was performed in Prague first in 1838, and later in 1864 when the conductor was Bedřich Smetana. On the stage of today’s State Opera, its tones sounded for the first time in April 1900.
Young Czech soprano, Lucie Kaňková, playing the title role is an extraordinary talent. She performs on Czech and foreign opera stages, last year she made her debut with great success at the Royal Opera in Liège as Gilda in Verdi’s Rigoletto. In the Prague National Theatre, she has already played both Gilda and Violetta Valéry and is regularly heard by the audience of the Czech capital as the Queen of the night.
Edgardo’s role was perfectly staged by Sardinian-born Matteo Desole. His brilliant, bright tenor of a typically Italian timbre is perfectly technically mastered in an impressive dynamic range.
Pavol Kuban as Enrico Ashton applied his beautiful sounding baritone voice in all its natural range, delivering the part with full conviction.
Andriy Yurkevych approached the performance with full attention to the demands of the vocal parts and with a feeling for the character and nuances of Donizetti’s music, which was imprinted in the overall performance.