This is Maria Callas’ only broadcast from the stage of the Met. Hearing ‘La Divina’ in an actual performance is a unique thrill, and Lucia is a huge part of the palpable Callas mystique. Donizetti’s bloody tale of the Scottish lass torn from her true love and forced into an arranged marriage, only to go mad and murder her bridegroom on their wedding night, was the perfect vehicle for Callas’ wizardry. Her haunting voice simply becomes Lucia’s – every facet of emotion so pronounced that we cannot escape her spell.
RTÉ lyric fm, Saturday 13th February, 7pm-10pm