Lucia di Lammermoor is an opera based on a Scottish love story by Sir Walter Scott. Composed by Gaetano Donizetti, it is a thrilling opera, thrillingly performed by the cast of Dallas Opera (Dallas Opera). The main characters are played by Elena Masuc, who plays the title character; Bryan Hymel, who plays Sir Edgardo of Ravenwood; and Luca Grassi, who plays Lord Enrico Ashton. Minor characters are played by Jordan Bisch, Scott Quinn, Aaron Blake and Cynthia Hanna (Dallas Opera). Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essayThe pieces are played by a medium-sized orchestra, as well as sung by the actors: Masuc is a soprano, Hymel is a tenor, and Grassi is a baritone; Bisch is a bass, Quinn and Blake are tenors, and Hanna is a mezzo-soprano (Dallas Opera). There was no sound system; rather the artists' powerful voices carried throughout the room. The show took place at the Winspear Opera House in Dallas, Texas at 7:30 pm on October 19, 2011, the final dress rehearsal before opening night two days later. The audience was small, mostly made up of students who were probably attending a school show. The dress code was semi-formal, although I could come in with jeans and a jacket. I was seated in the top row of the Upper Grand Tier, the view of which is partially obscured by the low ceiling and large chandelier. Thankfully, the ceiling didn't obscure the stage or subs, and the chandelier rises so as not to block the view of patrons seated above. My only complaint is that it becomes very difficult to distinguish singers from each other at this height, and for a smooth performance I would recommend a lower seat. In Act I, scene 2, Masuc sings a very famous aria called Regnava nel Silenzio. In the scene, which takes place near a fountain at the entrance to the park, the protagonist, Lucia di Lammermoor, sings to Hanna's character about when she saw the ghostly figure of a girl who was killed right where they are standing, but then she sings about the love of her life, Edgardo, who had saved her life at the beginning of the story. He sings these things for about nine very strange and beautiful minutes. Throughout the first half, Masuc carries a terrifying melody, which grows from sad descending scales to intense and frightening dissonant chords with the orchestra closer to the middle of the piece. It's when Hanna says that her disturbing vision speaks of danger and that she should give up her love for Edgardo that Masuc completely changes direction and sings about Edgardo. Now the melody is happy and whimsical, and in this section he sings his highest and most piercing notes. The rest of the elements are treated the same way, being divided between the first and second halves. The orchestra creates dissonant harmonies in the first half, but more consonant harmonies in the second. The key also changes from minor to major as Masuc crosses the bridge from fear to happiness. While this piece is remarkable in its attempt to capture love and terror at the same time, it doesn't quite live up to the other famous scene from Lucia di Lammermoor. In Act III, scene 2, Masuc also sings the aria "Il dolcesono." It's called the "crazy scene" of the opera, and with good reason. The text of the aria alone talks about a beautiful wedding between the main characters, Edgardo and Lucia, but she sings it after killing Arturo (played by Aaron Blake), whom she had married a few hours earlier, and has gone mad, hallucinating the experience. She wears a blood-stained wedding dress as she wanders around the room, singing extravagantly as the orchestra compliments her voice. The tone of his voice is extravagant, which contrasts with the topic,.