Valentina Naforniţă – BBC Cardiff Singer of the World 2011

Lucia di Lammermoor is a dramma tragico (tragic opera) in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti. Salvadore Cammarano wrote the Italian language libretto loosely based upon Sir Walter Scott‘s historical novel The Bride of Lammermoor.^[1] The opera premiered on 26 September 1835 at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples. Donizetti revised the score for a French version which debuted on 6 August 1839 at the Théâtre de la Renaissance in Paris. The story concerns the emotionally fragile Lucy Ashton (Lucia) who is caught in a feud between her own family and that of the Ravenswoods. The setting is the Lammermuir Hills of Scotland (Lammermoor) in the 17th Century. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucia_di_Lammermoor)