Chicago Tribune - Highly Recommended
"...Now, it's Albina Shagimuratova's turn to take on this touchstone Italian dramatic coloratura role at Lyric. The acclaimed Russian soprano's brilliantly sung, sensitively acted heroine makes the new-to-Chicago production of "Lucia di Lammermoor" that opened Saturday night at the Civic Opera House a must-see."
Chicago Sun Times - Somewhat Recommended
"...There are moments when the sheer brilliance of the unamplified voice, stretched to the outer limits of human capacity, is stunning. And the voices here, whether those of the soloists or the superb chorus, are formidable, as is the playing of the Lyric orchestra, led by Enrique Mazzola, who is making his Lyric debut."
Chicago Stage Review - Highly Recommended
"...The esteemed British director successfully reframes Lucia di Lammermoor as 18th Century socio-political drama, making a strong statement about the emotional toll paid by women whose lives were routinely used as cheap currency, but the scene that brings that point undeniably home to the audience is for the most part missing. At the risk of slipping into melodramma italiana, Lucia's "mad scene" which should wrench us awake is barely a sigh of resignation. The heroine's final aria is sung with breathtaking tenderness on a set awash with reddish moonlight, but our world would surely be shattered if Ms. Shagimuratova were allowed to release her full power behind the mad and bloody finale this piece requires. Yes, Edgardo's final scene was heartbreaking and beautiful but what cements Lucia di Lammermoor in our minds as one of the greats is the shock and desolation we feel when we understand just how much Enrico's political aspirations have truly cost his sister. Mr. Vick's Lucia is a masterful reimagining, but to drive home its point, this opera needs to end with a bloody BANG, not a whimper."
ShowBizChicago - Highly Recommended
"...Donizetti’s masterpiece of passion & betrayal gets a magnificent staging at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. From a breathtaking set, the top-notch direction and the masterful singing and orchestra the Lyric has pulled out all the stops in assembling a world class team of designers and musicians."
Chicago On the Aisle - Highly Recommended
"...Despite its age, there's something very modern about Lucia's tragic disintegration in Vick's not-to-miss installment at the Lyric. The role of the innocent and doomed Scottish lass Lucia - who is in love and secretly betrothed, yet forced viciously by her own brother into an arranged marriage - features one of the greatest mad scenes in all of opera. Its stratospherically high range and virtuoso pyrotechnics are set off by melting lines of sadness and the shocking alternate reality of the girl's fracturing, murderous psyche."
Stage and Cinema - Recommended
"...Despite Vick's idiosyncratic direction, Lucia di Lammermoor remains an enjoyable production. In addition to some first-rate soloists, there is the inimitable Lyric Opera Chorus under the direction of Michael Black, whose vibrancy counterbalances Scott's woeful tale. And the primary colors of Brown's attractive period costumes have just enough tartan to evoke its Scottish setting. But Lucia could have been rather better."
ChicagoCritic - Highly Recommended
"...Lucia Di Lammermoor is pure grand opera with the thrilling bel canto – beautiful singing operatic style that demonstrates the skill of the singers. This opera is a “must see” for opera patrons and those who wish to experience the wonders of opera."
Around The Town Chicago - Recommended
"...Musically, this Lucia di Lammermoor is a triumph. As a production, it works about half the time. But because the half when it is outstanding is mostly in the latter part, I predict most audience members will leave with a favorable impression."
NewCity Chicago - Recommended
"...Albina Shagimuratova (Lucia) is possessed of a huge coloratura voice and if I missed the color that a lyric-coloratura would have essayed in the first aria and the sextet, the mad scene's high-flying fioritura was truly stunning. Shagimuratova popped every unfairly expected high E-flat with razor-sharp accuracy. Handsome Piotr Beczala (Edgardo) gave a tremendous performance, ardent and sure of voice, all the way through the final aria, which is the true test for the tenor, sitting in the lower-middle of the voice at the end of a long opera. Beczala's voice has such chiaroscuro and his technique is so solid, he could be the successor to Domingo in the lyrico-spinto repertoire."
