Right after the curtain came down on the emotional finale of the second act, in which Lucia is forced to sign the wedding contract, audiences on Times Square and Lincoln Center Plaza were taken backstage by Mary Jo Heath, host of tonight’s live transmission from the Met. In the hallway in front of the soloists’ dressing rooms, she was joined by tenor Marcello Giordani and baritone Mariusz Kwiecien, who came directly from the stage, for a brief interview. The two men were walking side by side, seemingly enjoying the performance and not looking like arch-enemies at all. “Only on stage,” Kwiecien said, laughing. Asked about his role, the Polish baritone explained that Enrico is not really a bad guy: “His family has lost its money, and Lucia’s marriage is the only way for him to hold things together. He’s blacking out everything else, he’s almost blind to his sister’s feelings.” Giordani, who stars in a Met season opening for the second time in a row, following last year’s Madama Butterfly, said he was honored to be part of the production. “It’s really wonderful to be here and to have the chance to do this new Lucia.” The Italian tenor will return later in the season for revivals of Manon Lescaut and Ernani. With Kwiecien and Giordani disappearing into their dressing rooms to get ready for the final act, Mary Jo Heath took a moment to remember one of the greatest artists who ever sang at the Met: Luciano Pavarotti, who died this month at age 71. In a clip from a 1981 performance of Donizetti’s L’Elisir d’Amore, the legendary tenor could be heard singing one of his signature tunes, Nemorino’s aria from the first act, “Una furtiva lagrima.” When his unmistakable voice rang out across the plaza the audience fell completely silent. Pavarotti appeared in seven Met opening nights between 1976 and 1996. With his unique voice and personality, he represented opera for a whole generation. As the clip came to a close the audience cheered heartily.

This entry was posted by Philipp Brieler on Monday, September 24th, 2007 at 5:29 pm and is filed under New Production Countdown. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.