Few things in opera are more exciting than a beloved young singer taking on a new role, especially in a new Fach. There seems no doubt as to how the audience at Covent Garden reacted on 17 February 1959 when Joan Sutherland—hitherto heard in repertoire such as Ameila in Un ballo in maschera, the Countess in Le nozze di Figaro, Micaëla in Carmen, and Agathe in Der Freischütz—brought her first Donizetti heroine—Lucia di Lammermoor—to the stage in a new production by Franco Zeffirelli conducted by Tullio Serafin.

The role, of course, became her calling card worldwide (40 performances at the Met alone between 1961 and 1982), and established once and for all that husband Richard Bonynge was correct: she would have far greater success in the bel canto repertoire than the Wagnerian direction in which she had been heading, having sung Eva in Die Meistersinger and various Rheintöchter, Walküren, and the Waldvogel.

After a 1960 performance of Alcina at La Fenice, the audience dubbed her “La stupenda,” a nickname which will forever remain associated with her.

There may be an error in my cast list: my source for the recording states this is Sutherland’s role debut as Lucia and gives the correct date, but the Edgardo is listed as João Gibin. It is well known that Australian tenor Kenneth Neate jumped in for Gibin at short notice on the night of the premiere. Can anyone help shed some light on this discrepancy?

Gaetano Donizetti: Lucia di Lammermoor

Royal Opera, Covent Garden
Tullio Serafin, conductor
26 February 1959

Lucia – Joan Sutherland
Edgardo – João Gibin
Enrico – John Shaw
Raimondo – Joseph Rouleau
Normanno – Robert Bowman
Alisa – Margreta Elkins
Arturo – Kenneth MacDonald

Note: when I first posted this, I believed it to be Sutherland’s very first Lucia. Evidence has surfaced which makes clear that it is her fourth performance in the role. Her role debut was on 17 February 1959; this is from a broadcast nine days later. Also, João Gibin sings Edgardo (and not Kenneth Neate, who replaced Gibin at the first two performances). I apologize for any confusion.