I have always found Bellini's music beautiful, and Norma is his masterpiece. The best production on DVD is still the Montserrat Caballe/Jon Vickers one from 1974, and that is by some considerable distance. Though the two Joan Sutherland productions are also quite good, and June Anderson's as well. There is a fair amount to like about this 2006 Munich production, and it is much better than the 2005 Amsterdam performance with Hasmik Papian but at the same time it is a long way from the best Norma.
This production is definitely one of those productions where it is much better musically than it is visually. From a visual standpoint, I found this production just weird. I admit that I am more a traditionalist, but I have seen my fair share of concept productions that have worked. But whether they work or not wholly depends on any levels of dullness or distaste or whether the opera in question is one that takes kindly to being in a setting different to what we're used to. I don't think Norma is one of those operas, and, with the sparse minimalist sets, ugly costumes(especially for the Druids, Norma herself looks more Klytamnestra than Norma and the children as if they'd stepped out from the Holocaust) and perplexing mixture of eras and the Romans and Druids being more of a battle between Christians and Muslims, in the end I just had no idea at all of what the production was trying to do.
For all the weirdness this said, the staging isn't without its moments. I did find Norma's entrance and the opening to Act 2 thrillingly done.
On the other hand, there is a lot to admire. The orchestral playing have the lush style, liquid legato, shimmering beauty of sound and the power and pathos that Bellini's music asks for. The chorus are rousing and are equally good in accompanying what is going on on stage, especially the ladies in Casta Diva. Friederich Haider's conducting is authoritative and sympathetic, which is exactly the right approach for any conducting job really. What was also special was how he balanced the textures and how certain parts had a genuine sense of dread. The performances are very good, two actually are outstanding. But there was one lead performance I didn't care at all for and that was Zoran Todorovich's Pollione. He shouts his way through his vocal line, especially in the first act though the second was a slight improvement, and he is a very unsubtle actor. Roberto Scandiuzzi though makes Oroveso a more interesting character than he usually is, vocally firm and with an almost regal bearing.
Sonia Ganassi is a sensational Adalgisa, quite possibly the second best on DVD after Tatiana Troyanos. She has a beautiful and very flexible voice and her personal charm and sympathetic understanding of the character makes for a most convincing counter-point to the more highly-strung character of Norma. Edita Gruberova, singing Norma late on in her career(59 I believe she was), is equally outstanding in a suitably troubled, personal, dramatically vivid and beautifully and deeply felt interpretation. Her career has seen her generally better vocally(I do think she doesn't have a strong enough chest voice though), but the floating pianissimos, excellent legato line, carefully articulated diction and bell-like high notes are all here, and the tone is unforced with little signs of a wobble or harshness. All in all, weird and head-scratching visually, but apart from a want of a better tenor the musical side of the production is near-faultless.
7/10 Bethany Cox
This production is definitely one of those productions where it is much better musically than it is visually. From a visual standpoint, I found this production just weird. I admit that I am more a traditionalist, but I have seen my fair share of concept productions that have worked. But whether they work or not wholly depends on any levels of dullness or distaste or whether the opera in question is one that takes kindly to being in a setting different to what we're used to. I don't think Norma is one of those operas, and, with the sparse minimalist sets, ugly costumes(especially for the Druids, Norma herself looks more Klytamnestra than Norma and the children as if they'd stepped out from the Holocaust) and perplexing mixture of eras and the Romans and Druids being more of a battle between Christians and Muslims, in the end I just had no idea at all of what the production was trying to do.
For all the weirdness this said, the staging isn't without its moments. I did find Norma's entrance and the opening to Act 2 thrillingly done.
On the other hand, there is a lot to admire. The orchestral playing have the lush style, liquid legato, shimmering beauty of sound and the power and pathos that Bellini's music asks for. The chorus are rousing and are equally good in accompanying what is going on on stage, especially the ladies in Casta Diva. Friederich Haider's conducting is authoritative and sympathetic, which is exactly the right approach for any conducting job really. What was also special was how he balanced the textures and how certain parts had a genuine sense of dread. The performances are very good, two actually are outstanding. But there was one lead performance I didn't care at all for and that was Zoran Todorovich's Pollione. He shouts his way through his vocal line, especially in the first act though the second was a slight improvement, and he is a very unsubtle actor. Roberto Scandiuzzi though makes Oroveso a more interesting character than he usually is, vocally firm and with an almost regal bearing.
Sonia Ganassi is a sensational Adalgisa, quite possibly the second best on DVD after Tatiana Troyanos. She has a beautiful and very flexible voice and her personal charm and sympathetic understanding of the character makes for a most convincing counter-point to the more highly-strung character of Norma. Edita Gruberova, singing Norma late on in her career(59 I believe she was), is equally outstanding in a suitably troubled, personal, dramatically vivid and beautifully and deeply felt interpretation. Her career has seen her generally better vocally(I do think she doesn't have a strong enough chest voice though), but the floating pianissimos, excellent legato line, carefully articulated diction and bell-like high notes are all here, and the tone is unforced with little signs of a wobble or harshness. All in all, weird and head-scratching visually, but apart from a want of a better tenor the musical side of the production is near-faultless.
7/10 Bethany Cox
