of her brother’s necessities, she at last consents to her union with Lord Arthur.  The marriage contract is signed with great ceremony, and just as she has placed her name to the fatal paper, Edgar suddenly appears.  Learning from Lucy what she has done, he tramples the contract under foot, hurls an imprecation upon the house of Lammermoor, and bursts out of the room in a terrible rage.  Sir Henry follows him, and a fierce quarrel ensues, which ends in a challenge.  Meanwhile, at night, after the newly wedded couple have retired, a noise is heard in their apartment.  The attendants rush in and find Lord Arthur dying from wounds inflicted by Lucy, whose grief has made her insane.  When she returns to reason, the thought of what she has done and the horror of her situation overcome her, and shortly death puts an end to her wretchedness.  Ignorant of her fate, Edgar goes to the churchyard of Ravenswood, which has been selected as the rendezvous for the duel with Sir Henry.  While impatiently waiting his appearance, the bell of the castle tolls, and some of the attendants accosting him bring the news of her death.  The despairing lover kills himself among the graves of his ancestors, and the sombre story ends.

The popular verdict has stamped “Lucia” as Donizetti’s masterpiece, and if the consensus of musicians could be obtained, it would unquestionably confirm the verdict.  It contains incomparably the grandest of his arias for tenor, the Tomb song in the last act, and one of the finest dramatic concerted numbers, the sextet in the second act, that can be found in any Italian opera.  Like the quartet in “Rigoletto,” it stands out in such bold relief, and is so thoroughly original and spontaneous, that it may be classed as an inspiration.  The music throughout is of the most sombre character.  It does not contain a joyous phrase.  And yet it can never be charged with monotony.  Every aria, though its tone is serious and more often melancholy, has its own characteristics, and the climaxes are worked up with great power.  In the first act, for instance, the contrasts are very marked between Henry’s aria ("Cruda, funesta smania"), the chorus of hunters ("Come vinti da stanchezza"), Henry’s second aria ("La pietade in suo favore"), in which he threatens vengeance upon Edgar, the dramatic and beautifully written arias for Lucy, “Regnava nel silenzio” and “Quando rapita in estasi,” and the passionate farewell duet between Lucy and Edgar, which is the very ecstasy of commingled love and sorrow.  The second act contains a powerful duet ("Le tradirmi tu potrai”) between Lucy and Henry; but the musical interest of the act centres in the great sextet, “Chi mi frena,” which ensues when Edgar makes his unexpected appearance upon the scene of the marriage contract.  For beauty, power, richness of melody and dramatic expression, few concerted numbers by any composer can rival it.  The last act also contains two numbers which are always the delight of great artists,—­the mad song of Lucy, “Oh, gioja che si senti,” and the magnificent tomb scena, “Tomba degl’avi miei,” which affords even the most accomplished tenor ample scope for his highest powers.