Herald Review

Lucia di Lammermoor, St Andrew's and St George's Church

****

After last year's success with its inaugural perfromance of Puccini's La Boheme, Opera Bohemia returns to the Fringe this year with a stunning production of Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor.

The vocal standard of these young singers is remarkable, with each cast member having an exceptional power to his or her voice.

The cast's ensemble singing is perfectly in sync, with the sextet in Act II being particularly sublime, and incredibly moving.

The orchestration, although dramatically stripped down to just solo violin and piano, was performed quite brilliantly, with Laura Baxter and Amira Bedrush-Macdonald bringing a vast array of depth and colour to Donizetti's score.

The male cast members are each vocally stunning, with James Arthur, in the role of the Calvinist Chaplain singing in a rich, sonorous tone with dark, velvety hues, and Douglas Nairne singing the role of Enrico with potent intensity.

The most dazzling performance, however, is given by Australian soprano Suzanne Shakespeare.

Singing the lead role of Lucia, she display amazing dexterity especially in the coloratura passages . A spectacular performance, Opera Bohemia is truly one of the most exciting new opera companies in the country, and we can be sure to expect great things from them. 

Miranda Heggie