Lucia di Lammermoor by Donizetti, Ab (2024/2024), Unter der Regie von Brenna Corner, Dirigat Joseph Mechavich, Mahalia Jackson Theater for the Performing Arts, New Orleans, Vereinigte Staaten

Sir Walter Scott, Author of The Bride of Lammermoor, was an influential Scottish author, poet, and historian whose works are considered classics in the European literary canon. As a small child, Scott was stricken lame with a bout of polio that affected him throughout his life. In order to recuperate, his parents sent him away from their cramped quarters in Edinburgh to spend time outdoors with his paternal grandparents in the Scottish Borders outside of the city. Here, he was first exposed to the rich mythology and folklore of the Scottish people. These foundational learnings formed Scott’s understanding of the Scottish identity. He imbued his poetry and writings with historical, romantic notions of the Borderlands. The Bride of Lammermoor was published in 1819 and was one of the many novels in Scott’s Waverley Series. This series consists of 27 novels that were, for over a century, among the most popular and widely read books in Europe. Initially published anonymously (so as not to tarnish Scott’s established reputation lest the reviews proved poor), the works received their proper attribution only in later years.