Lucia di Lammermoor, an opera by Gaetano Donizetti. Metropolitan Opera House, starring Natalie Dessay and Giuseppe Filianoti. Simply put, this is one of the great performances one will ever see of this beautiful old opera. Dessay gives the performance of a lifetime as Lucia, she IS Lucia, singing with a pure ethereal tone and acting her heart out in the role. To hear Dessay sing the famous "Mad Scene" accompanied by a glass harmonica is a revelation. I will never forget it. The fine young Italian tenor Giuseppe Filianoti is a find: a genuine Italian tenor with a lovely voice. At times he sounded like a young Tagliavini. Fine conducting by Joseph Colaneri (substituting for an ailing James Levine) and splendid playing by the orchestra, with achingly beautiful harp and cello solos. The production by the brilliant Mary Zimmerman updates the opera to the 19th Century making it a Victorian ghost story, more Wilkie Collins than Walter Scott, but this worked beautifully. Edward Gorey would have loved it. We did. Broadway Bridge and Tunnel Test grade A+