Lucia’s Ghosts: Sonic, Gothic and Postmodern

Abstract

In this article, I use an intertextual interference – the spectral presence of Norma Desmond in a performance of Donizetti’sLucia di Lammermoor– as a locus through which to explore the consequences of the ‘open’ text in theatrical spectatorship, criticism and historical study. Norma’s ghosting of Lucia reveals how spectral effects function in musical and dramatic contexts, particularly in Gothic works. These effects replace illusions of linear teleology with temporal synchronicity and destabilise the boundaries that separate the critic or spectator from the work. Though examiningLuciathrough the lens ofSunset Boulevardinverts chronological sequence, it acknowledges the temporal contradictions inherent in historical work and assigns productive meaning to nostalgic impulses that engage a reflective mode of thought.