Lucia di Lammermoor is an Italian opera in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti , first performance at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples , on September 26 , 1835 , libretto by Salvatore Cammarano , after Sir Walter Scott 's novel The Bride of Lammermoor . Salvadore Cammarano wrote the Italian language libretto loosely based upon Sir Walter Scott 's historical novel The Bride of Lammermoor . The opera premiered on 26 September 1835 at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples .