The Opera Tattler

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SF Opera’s Lucia di Lammermoor (Shagimuratova)

Lucia-albina-2015* Notes * 
Lucia di Lammermoor closed last Wednesday at San Francisco Opera with Albina Shagimuratova as the title character, substituting for Nadine Sierra, who was ill. Shagimuratova herself has been sick and had not yet performed her role as the Queen of the Night in the current run of The Magic Flute that ends November 20.

The performance of Lucia was tantalizing, Shagimuratova has a powerful voice that is a good match for the other great singers sharing the War Memorial stage with her. On the down side, she was obviously still ill, and no amount of wonderful singing could save the terrible production, which looks even worse in close quarters, I discovered.

Shagimuratova's voice is exceedingly dark but she has brilliant high notes. Her Lucia was less safe than Nadine Sierra's, and more emotional. Shagimuratova did lack the sweetness and innocence that Sierra brought to the role. That said, it was exciting to hear Shagimuratova, and we are lucky to be able to get such talent at the last minute.

Michael Cavanagh's staging is pretty darn silly. Ghosts appear nearly every time the word "ghost" is mentioned, and it made my date laugh almost every time, which is hardly an appropriate reaction. It interesting to see that the production team did not try to put Shagimuratova into Sierra's costumes, or even ones that approximated them. Since neither set of outfits really fit in with anything else on stage, it was perfectly fine.

* Tattling * 
There were giggles heard not only from my opera companion, but in adjacent boxes and even from the Grand Tier, particularly when Arturo's body was revealed in the mad scene.

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8 responses to “SF Opera’s Lucia di Lammermoor (Shagimuratova)”

  1. Michael Strickland Avatar
    Michael Strickland

    I giggled at the ghosts, too, particularly since they were not very ghostly.

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  2. David Ghadimi Avatar
    David Ghadimi

    This was surely a turning point in all my years of attending SF opera. I am disappointed to the extent that it may have been the last time I ever attended any of the events performed in my beloved opera house. The set designed by someone utterly unaware of illusion effects (huge tiles that make performers look small, curtains that serve no purpose except distraction …), the singers, the choreography and over all experience matched my average experience at the movie theater down the street showcasing Mr Beans. SF opera is becoming a walking dead entity, because the organizers just gave up holding the minimum standards. I used to be annoyed by people wearing jeans, I used to be annoyed by people constantly wiggling and moving in their seats, coughing during the performance, kicking my seat from the back, clapping while music continues after the singers stop, but in all my years I have not been so disappointed by performers, and NEVER seen people taking iPhone selfie DURING the fu…ng performance. The soprano (Nadine Sierra) obviously was nowhere near the task completely ruined the highlight of the entire opera. LED flashlights instead of torches? (You don’t need fire torches, but seriously? LED flashlights from Ace hardware?) Since when changing the set to modern day has been accepted in lieu of the original costumes and set up? Donizetti and AK47? men wearing 1930 NYC mafia outfits while women wearing 1880 bourgeoisie dresses? Did the director actually see this same performance in other major opera houses before attempting to change everything down to lunatic level? It is now obvious to me where SF opera is heading: straight to the bottom of the pacific through SF sewer lines. Once you start bending the generally accepted rules to attend an opera to accommodate jean wearing locals who have never seen other opera companies’ performances, you are to be expected serving pop corn and soda next, there is no stopping the trends we see all across America’s cultural landscape. The ruin of art. I sure will miss SF opera.

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  3. David Ghadimi Avatar
    David Ghadimi

    Correction NOT Ms Sierra but Albina Shagimuratova.

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  4. Drb Avatar
    Drb

    Despite comments above I envy that you saw Shagimitatova.

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  5. The Opera Tattler Avatar
    The Opera Tattler

    They indeed were not!

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  6. The Opera Tattler Avatar
    The Opera Tattler

    This season has been less than stellar and this staging was disappointing, all the points you make are valid.
    I enjoyed hearing Shagimuratova because she was so different than Sierra. But certainly she was still ill and I can see why one would be upset, especially since Damrau was to have been the Lucia.

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  7. Roberto Avatar
    Roberto

    I always wear jeans at the opera. I’ve been a subscriber for 10 years. As for soda pop, during the intermission, I actually drink Coke Zero and eat a sandwich that I bring from home. Who cares???
    Btw, I enjoyed the production. Nadine was mesmerizing.

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  8. Roberto Avatar
    Roberto

    I liked Luisa and Lucia a lot. The Magic Flute revival, not so much.

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