Madness in opera: all the Lucias of Lammermoor
18.06.2019
Love and betrayal are eternal themes for humanity, and also for opera. A triangle completed by madness. This musical genre would be inconceivable without the irruption of mental derangement in some of its characters. An insanity associated with crime in some cases, with suicide in others, which tends to occur more frequently in female characters. These dramas are replete with heroines who lose their minds , an ideal state for giving way to impossible and incomprehensible flourishes, subtle and incomprehensible under other circumstances.
Lucia di Lammermoor, the protagonist of Donizetti's classic of the same name, heads the group of women who find themselves in situations of no return. We are talking about women driven mad by the pressure of their surroundings , who have only one way out: to kill and die. This fate is not exclusive to isolated cases. Nor does it belong solely to the female gender. In fact, we find more than one jealous husband capable of piercing hearts with sharp daggers. This is attested to by the comprehensive study on the abandonment of sanity in the operatic genre by Juan Carlos Fustinoni.
Fustinoni's conclusions on madness in opera
The doctor lends opera a scientific dimension by dissecting numerous titles. Melancholy, schizophrenia, delusions … Fustinoni analyzes every behavior related to dementia to arrive at revealing conclusions. The scholar found 77 suicides (45 women and 32 men) in 306 operas. Homicide was the circumstance that triggered this tragic end in seven of these cases.
Special mention must be made of the events we witnessed as spectators in Berlioz's Les Troyens and Mussorgsky 's Khovanshchina . Here, the voluntary loss of life is not limited to one person, but extends to the entire chorus. Nor do we miss the attempts at self-harm that, while not resulting in fatalities, condemned a number of tormented souls to ostracism.
Lamentable melodies to illustrate tears
These figures reflect how opera exalts the best, but also the worst, of humanity. Yes, even for itself. How can one not perceive, at some point during the performance, the thunderous and mournful melodies ? Who hasn't heard those mournful chants accompanied by sounds that mimic a storm? To not grasp those bombastic flourishes adorned with feelings of pain, those voices pushed to the very limits of vocal capacity, or that music driven to the brink of dissonance seems an impossible task. Logical and intelligent exaggeration is the vehicle composers use to communicate the characters' sorrow to the audience.
The powerful arias take center stage, overshadowing the realm of reason. The moment madness takes hold, time, until then linear, becomes circular . It abandons the surface to become repetitive. This turning point also marks the climax of the narrative, its intention more communicative than anywhere else in the plot. Hyperbole and exaggeration of emotions are thus expressed, taking excess as their point of reference .
The delirium of Lucia di Lammermoor
'Lucia di Lammermoor', Donizetti's opera coming to the Palau de Les Arts in Valencia in June and July, is based on Walter Scott's novel The Bride of Lammermoor . On stage, we will see the young woman, gripped by delirium, enter a trance (presumably due to the pressure exerted on her by the chaplain). As a result, she wounds her husband in a feverish atmosphere. It's worth remembering that the orphaned girl does not love her husband, chosen not by her, but by her brother Enrico. The imposition of this arrangement is intended to save the family from ruin . Therefore, the man in question is not a mere neighbor, but a nobleman, Arthur of Bucklaw.
The highest notes in the repertoire
The obligation to marry someone she doesn't love (her devotion to Edgardo is absolute) drives her to madness. Only death can fulfill her feelings, those born of unrequited love, the adversity of fate, and human cruelty. We are in the third act, and the soprano sings the highest notes of the repertoire . Two high E-flat notes encapsulate all the scenes of madness typical of any bel canto opera. The technical demands mean that not all performers can shine in this section, the most popular of this romantic melodrama, which is capable of touching the audience's heart.
The value of expressiveness for Maria Callas
It was Maria Callas herself who restored the expressive power of this moment by eliminating certain ornamentation. Her intention did not entirely erase the artists' desire to shine . In fact, contemporary sopranos often incorporate turns and cadences to conclude the passage, making the aria of the mad scene the most anticipated part of the opera. The glass harmonica , or failing that, flutes , are the instruments that provide the music for this section, the most intense in the libretto. This is how Donizetti, the maestro from Bergamo, wanted to express the protagonist's anguish. This unease leads her to rebel against the power struggles, lost in hallucinations, perhaps the only way to escape this unwanted reality.
A suicide in front of Lucia's coffin
A kind of bird-like chirping, or fountain-like sound, is heard from these instruments. Lucia has killed her husband and suddenly appears, imagining her wedding to Edgardo. Our heroine collapses in this moment of madness. Those who accompany the passionate and fragile Lucia end up pitying her. Even her own brother, overcome by remorse. The romantic tragedy concludes with Edgardo's suicide before his beloved's funeral procession, as if he were Romeo.
Scenes of madness in other operas
Lucia, predisposed to madness from the moment the curtain rises, is not the only woman's name associated with a tragic death involving dementia. Maestro Puccini ends Tosca with the suicide of its protagonist, who throws herself to her death after discovering she has been betrayed, following the execution of her lover before her eyes. The Italian composer also allows his eternal geisha , Madama Butterfly , to take her own life. "She who cannot preserve her existence with honor dies with honor," she concludes before her particular scene of madness. Butterfly is referring to the betrayal she committed against her ancestors by abandoning her religion.
Other Lucias: Margarita, Elvira, Imogene, and Anne Boleyn
For her part, Margherita becomes the murderer of her own son in Mefistofele . In this case, the pressure exerted by Faust (Boito uses Goethe's classic as a starting point) leads this young peasant woman to commit infanticide. She is accused not only of drowning her child but also of poisoning his mother. Subjugation and oppression are the causes of madness in this Wagnerian -style opera.
Even Lady Macbeth herself is not immune to moments of mental disorder and delirium. In Verdi 's Shakespearean opera, this woman, trapped in an unhappy marriage, suffers a sleepwalking episode. The ensuing aria of madness leads to her death.
Meanwhile, Vincenzo Bellini's Elvira in the opera I Puritani cared far more about her future husband. So much so that she imagines her beloved Arturo has abandoned her for another woman before the wedding and descends into madness. In this case, the degree of irrationality differs from that of Lucia di Lammermoor. Elvira's transient psychosis evaporates, and she finally regains her sanity when she discovers it was all a figment of her imagination. She is not the only woman who goes mad in Bellini's operas. Imogene loses her mind when her beloved Gualtiero is condemned to death. The young woman, who is forced into marriage with Ernesto, cannot bear such profound grief in Il Pirata .
Not only does Bellini repeat the operatic device of madness, but Donizetti himself follows in Lucia's footsteps with another classic, Anna Bolena . "Al dolce guidami" is the aria that forms part of the mad scene that concludes the libretto. The Queen Consort of England is aware that she is condemned to die. In this moment of madness, she recalls her former love for Lord Percy. Meanwhile, the cannon fires announcing her husband's marriage to Giovanna Seymour, her rival, are heard.
The performers who bring these women to life on stage deliver scenes of bravura through heartfelt arias. Lucia di Lammermoor is one of those essential icons of madness in opera that stirs the audience's emotions. They connect with the fourth wall through their derangement, whether temporary or permanent. Their misfortune resonates with the audience through the passion that arises from their misunderstandings, their untimely loves, and their bitter farewells. Watching Lucia is the best way to approach the psyche of these pivotal women in opera .
