Lucia di Lammermoor is a dramma tragico in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti. Salvadore Cammarano wrote the Italian-language libretto loosely based upon Sir Walter Scott’s 1819 historical novel, The Bride of Lammermoor. Donizetti wrote Lucia di Lammermoor in 1835, shortly after Gioachino Rossini had retired and Vincenzo Bellini had died, leaving him the only Italian opera composer of genius still working. That, coupled with the interest in the culture and history of Scotland that is the focus of the story, led to the steady success that the work received. It premiered on September 26th, 1835 at the Teatro di San Carlo in Naples.