New Met Opera to be Simulcast at Monmouth

This Saturday at the Pollak Theatre at Monmouth University, there will be a simulcast of one of the most popular operas of all time, as Gaetano Donizetti’s Lucia Di Lammermoor will be shown on campus.

The presentation of this opera will take place at 1 p.m. on Saturday, March 19, and there will be a special encore presentation of the opera on Sunday, April 3 at 7 p.m. Tickets for the event are $23 for the general public, and just $5 for students of Monmouth University. 

This is the eighth opera simulcast from the Metropolitan Opera House at Monmouth University, following in the footsteps of Das Rheingold, Don Pasquale and Nixon in China. Following this presentation, there will be four more operas presented to round out the school year, including Le Comte Ory, Capriccio, Il Trovatore and Die Walkure.

Lucia Di Lammermoor was first performed in Naples in 1835. According to the Metropolitan Opera web site, the opera is about a feud between two families: the Ravenswoods and the Lammermoors. The play begins with Lord Henry Ashton of Lammermoor taking over the estate of Edgar of Ravenswood. However, the fortune of the Lammermoors begins to crash, and the only way the Lammermoors can regain their prominence is if Lucia Di Lammermoor marries the wealthy Lord Arthur Bucklow.

Many may know of this opera as it was recently featured in several scenes of Martin Scorcese’s 2006 Best Picture Academy Award winning movie, The Departed. 

The opera is divided into three acts and lasts for approximately three hours and forty minutes. It is sung in Italian with English subtitles throughout the performance. Acclaimed French soprano Natalie Dessay will be taking on the title role of Lucia Di Lammermoor.

To hear a sample of the music from this opera, please visit http://www.metoperafamily.org/metopera.

Tickets for this event can be purchased by calling the Monmouth University Box Office at 732-263-6889, or by visiting the box office online at www.monmouth.edu/arts.