Donizetti’s Lucia Di Lammermoor – New Orleans Opera (2007) – Times Picayune

With darkly brooding passions, the New Orleans Opera Association took a stab at Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor last weekend, resulting in a bloody good show. James Marvel’s direction was straightforward and effective, using that restraint to make the stronger impact. It was especially adept in capturing the opera’s subtext of smoldering sexuality. The direction showed subdued restraint allowing the audience’s chief focus to remain on the dazzling vocal lines. Jane Redding provided a compelling, splendid performance, hauntingly beautiful and delicately sculpted. Redding’s acting made the production soar and made all the right moves, as this Lucia went off the edge, she didn’t go over the top. Richard Zeller’s acting also brought deeper dimensions to the character, making him less the cardboard villain of the piece and almost sympathetic as a man driven to desperation.

– Theodore Mahne, Times Picayune