on stage

Love, madness and murder: An evening with Lucia di Lammermoor at Austin LyricOpera

It sounds like a soap opera: Lucia is caught in the middle of a bitter blood feud, tricked by her own brother into giving up the man she loves. Driven to madness, Lucia murders the man her brother is forcing her to marry.

Such is the storyline, in a very brief nutshell, of the classic Italian opera, Lucia di Lammermoor. The dramatic opera is full of over-the-top passion, and the scene of madness, in which Lucia enters covered in blood from her own wedding, has made the careers of some of the greatest voices in the opera world.

On Jan. 28, the Austin Lyric Opera will debut its production of Lucia di Lammermoor. "International star soprano Lyubov Petrova shines in the legendary title role," promises the ALO website. Conductor Richard Buckley says, "I think the portrayal of Lucia by Lyuba is truly special. The combination of her talents and take on the role and the directorial gifts that Doug Scholz-Carlson brings will be especial interpretation."

She is joined onstage by Chad Shelton playing her true love, Edgardo, Weston Hurt as her villainous brother Enrico and Brian Joyce as Arturo, the man whom she is arranged to marry. Peter Volpe, Liz Cass and Carey Dietert round out the cast. "The singers for this production are outstanding!" Buckley adds. "They embody their characters physically, emotionally and musically. Austin will have a live performance experience awaiting them in the true Bel Canto style."

ALO is offering a very special promotion: a buy one, get one free offer. By entering the promo code EDGARDO, you can get two of the best available seats at balcony level for just $99, or mezzanine level for $135.

Stage Director Scholz-Carlson describes Lucia di Lammermoor as a story about a woman who's married to the wrong guy. "It's set in Scotland in the late 1600s, right during the time of the Glorious Revolutions. So, we're at war as to whether the Catholics or the Protestants are going to be in control of the monarchy of England and Scotland. Lucia is in love with her family's enemy, Edgardo, who is on the Catholic side."

The fact that Lucia's family is on the Protestant side, and trying to maintain the honor of their house, is what gives the opera its conflict. The only way to save the family is for Lucia to marry Arturo, which her brother Enrico tries to force.

Lucia and Edgardo marry in secret however, and the deceit and intrigue unravel from there. "One of the things that opera is so good at doing is showing the interstate of the mind," says Scholz-Carlson. "Opera moves in time in a different way than other kinds of theater. We get through the exposition and we get the story set up very quickly and efficiently; and then we spend a long time exploring a particular emotional state."

In fact, Scholz-Carlson believes this is exactly how time works for us in real-life. For example, you might spend 30 minutes in your car commuting, and not even really be paying attention to those moments or remember what happened specifically in that passage of time. By contrast, the moments when your child is born or you got married, those really important moments, expand and become a much larger experience.

"That's exactly what happens in opera. And the emotional experience that Lucia di Lammermoor is going after is madness, and that is something that can be expressed really well in music."

The ALO presentation of Lucia di Lammermoor is produced in a very traditional style. The set and costuming are all realistic for the 17th century Scottish setting, as intended in the original opera. Scholz-Carlson's background in theater provides a text-driven visual for the performance, to accompany the music.

As for Buckley, this is his seventh production of Lucia. "I feel over the thirty years I have been conducting it I can bring a much larger palette of orchestral colors and musical emotions to this work," he says. "It has become a part of me."

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Lucia di Lammermoor will be performed on Jan. 28, Feb. 3 and Feb. 5. For tickets, call (512) 472-5992 or visit the online ALO Box Office.

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Historic Austin museum will close for more than a year for restoration

Photo courtesy of the City of Austin

The Elisabet Ney Museum will close at the end of 2024 and reopen in mid-2026.

Every building needs some maintenance here or there, and the historic Elisabet Ney Museum needs some extra-special care. Formerly the art studio and residence of its namesake, it's been standing since 1892. It'll spend 2025 in relative solitude, as it undergoes renovation for a year and a half with no visitors allowed.

The museum will close to the public December 30, 2024, and open again in the summer of 2026 if all goes according to plan, a news release from the City of Austin shares. It'll be a quiet period compared to the 21,000 people visiting from around the world each year.

According to a museum overview on the city's website, Elisabet Ney, a European portrait sculptor, bought the property and called her new studio Formosa. She worked on sculptures depicting important Texans like Stephen F. Austin and Sam Houston, and collected works of European contemporaries.

The building at 304 East 44th St. includes 3,700 square feet of museum space, which was converted by Ney's friends after her death in 1907. It retains its unique look that juxtaposes a Neo-Classical main studio from 1892 with a later addition from 1902 including a tower for her husband, Edmund, to write in. It is also on 2.5 acres of land, which has largely been restored to its natural state with native species.

A press release lists these tasks (verbatim) within the scope of the new work, referred to as the Capital Improvement Project (CIP):

Restoration of original exterior wood doors and windows
Upgrades and replacement of the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system
Replacement of the exhibit and general lighting systems
Repairs to the roof, masonry, plumbing, and interior finishes.

There will also be work to do outside of the building. Workers will replace the pedestrian bridge across Waller Creek, stabilize a 20,000-square-foot portion of the bank, and make the grounds more accessible by adding new pathways.

Funding comes from several sources, according to a release: "the 2012 Bond, Proposition 14, the Parkland Dedication Fund, the Historic Preservation Fund, Partners in Preservation through the National Trust, and contributions from the Friends of the Elisabet Ney Museum."

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Historic Austin museum will close for more than a year for restoration