Tenor Joseph Calleja is Pollione, Norma’s unfaithful lover, and Carlo Rizzi conducts. Sir David McVicar’s evocative production sets the action deep in a Druid forest where nature and ancient ritual rule.
Norma is the high priestess of the Druids and daughter of their leader Oroveso. But she is also in love with Pollione, proconsul of their Roman oppressors, and secretly has had two children with him.
Matters get even more complicated when another priestess, Adalgisa, innocently confesses to Norma that she has fallen love with Pollione, who in turns wants to take Adalgisa back to Rome with him. Bellini’s exquisite music conveys every nuance of the characters’ emotional dilemma, all the way through to the drama’s shattering conclusion.
This opera is an extraordinary fusion of sublime melody, vocal challenge, and dramatic power. It examines an ageless and archetypal situation: a powerful woman compromises her ideals for love, only to find herself betrayed by her lover. But equally gripping is her relationship with the younger woman who is the new object of her former lover’s attention and in whom Norma sees both a rival and a second self.
The title role demands dramatic vocal power combined with the agility and technique of a coloratura singer. It is a daunting challenge that few can rise to: those who have are part of operatic lore.
MET Opera Live in HD: Bellini’s Norma streams live at Salisbury Arts Centre on October 11 at 5.55pm.
Tickets are £17, available online at www.salisburyartscentre.co.uk or from Salisbury Arts Centre box office on 01722 321744.