Lucia di Lammermoor

Updated June 26, 2020 | Infoplease Staff

Donizetti's tragic romance relates the fortunes of Lucy, sister of Lord Henry of Lammermoor, who arranges a marriage for Lucy to salvage his own financial and political fortunes. When Henry discovers that Lucy loves Edgar, son of a rival family, he deceives her into believing that Edgar is unfaithful, and she agrees to marry the man her brother has chosen. Returning from abroad, an innocent Edgar curses Lucy's apparent infidelity, and Henry challenges him to a duel. But Lucy, mad with grief, slays her husband and kills herself, leaving Edgar to die by his own hand in the graveyard of his ancestors.