When one thinks of the great hubs of opera, Rochester, New York, is probably not the first city that comes to mind. Yet on the occasion of this performance of Lucia di Lammermoor, the denizens of Rochester could have enjoyed a well-deserved sense of hometown pride, for they mounted a performance that would have been the envy of the greatest opera houses in the world, thanks above all to Marisa Galvany in the title role.

Galvany’s Lucia is no shrinking rose. Instead, she invests the character with an imperious strength that foreshadows the violence to come. One might think that, given the size of her voice, Galvany would have opted out of some of the traditional interpolated high notes; on the contrary, she finds even more opportunities to display her gravity-defying top, including a thrilling E-flat during her Act I duet with Edgardo.

The rest of the cast may be less familiar, but they sing with distinction, particularly the sweet-voiced Edgardo of Richard Taylor and the elegantly sung Enrico of Jake Gardner.