Based on Walter Scott's novel, The Bride of Lammermoor, Lucia di Lammermoor tells the emotional tale a woman who is constantly manipulated by the men in her life. When she's pushed to her limit, Lucia finally decides to take control of her situation, with tragic consequences for the life of her new husband and her sanity.​

The opera is perhaps most famous for the third act’s ‘mad scene’, in which Lucia descends into insanity. The mad scene was a popular convention in the bel canto era of opera, especially amongst French and Italian composers