NORMA

Opera

On 16 and 17 May 2024 at 19.00 the premiere performances of the opera "Norma" by Vincenzo Bellini took place on the stage of the Stara Zagora Opera. The pearl of bel canto "Norma" will shine in a lavish production in the classical tradition - the work of a magnificent Italian team:

Director Giandomenico Vaccari, together with artist Ilvatore Russo, sticks to the authenticity of the era in which the action takes place: during the decline of the Roman Empire, around 100 BC. "Norma", an absolute masterpiece by the young Vincenzo Bellini, who wrote the work when he was only 30 years old, is a true "House of Cards" - a story and a drama built on the fragility of human stories and on the unfortunate confusion of the behaviour of all the main characters with the inevitable consequences." - briefly describes the director Giandomenico Vaccari and adds: "Obviously Norma was meant to be the unattainable and inaccessible high priestess leading the Gauls, occupied and oppressed by Roman rule, but according to the taste and concept of Alexandre Soumé, author of the drama on which the work is based, and then by Felice Romani, who wrote the libretto, Norma is a very normal woman who loves, deceives, gets angry and lost like most of us, and she can't even be terrifying like Medea, she tries to kill her children to hurt Pollione, but fails. It's a drama that turns from mythic to almost petty-bourgeois.

The director's task at this point is to tell the story of the priestess's "House of Cards" by following and painting the lopsided psychological states and unbridled desires of the main characters. In the background is the irreconcilable hatred between two peoples..."

Artist SALVATORE RUSSO, an admirable craftsman and expert in historical costume and set design, approaches Norma "with absolute respect for Vincenzo Bellini's music and libretto! The show opens with a 19th-century reproduction of the Etna Valley, with the volcano, as a tribute to Catania and Vincenzo Bellini. The stage then opens out onto the forest, where in the middle stands a great oak tree, sacred to the Druids, from which - as it opens out - all the drama of Norma is revealed! At the end of the opera, as Norma and Pollione go to the stake, the volcano Etna reappears at the bottom erupting in flames! The costumes are interpreted in a traditional way, using tones of light blue - the colour the people of Gaul used to dye their faces, hair and clothes! The exceptions are the costumes of Norma, Adalgisa, Polione and Flavio, the last two being dressed as the Romans of the Empire, while Norma and Adalgisa are dressed in a style I would call PRIMA DONNA, linked to the tradition of the 19th century divas who allowed themselves some freedom in terms of style and colour!" says Salvatore Russo.

In Stara Zagora, productions of Norma have a short history with its notable high points - the title was first staged on 2 February 1989 - conductor Bozhidar Bonev, director Evgeny Platov, artists Vyacheslav Okunov and Irina Press, chorus master Bogdana Popova. Young Ophelia Hristova / Norma / and the vocal Simeon Simeonov / Pollione /, Alexander Marulev / Oroveso / and Petya Baldzhieva / Adaljiza / stand out here. The next production is outdoors - the premiere is at the Antique Forum "Augusta Traiana" on 2 July 2006 within the 39th edition of the Festival of Opera and Ballet Art. Conductor is again Bozhidar Bonev, director Stefan Donev, designer Dimo Kostadinov, costumes Lili Kostadinova, balletmaster Alida Boneva. In the main roles shine Ofelia Hristova and Sonya Marinova /Norma/, Daniela Dyakova and Petya Tsoneva /Adaljiza/, Stoyan Daskalov and Martin Iliev /Pollione/, Alexander Marulev and Daniel Dimitrov /Oroveso/.

The premiere of the opera Norma on 26 December 1831 on the stage of Milan's La Scala suffered a fiasco due to artistic circumstances (the indisposition of soprano Giuditta Pasta) and the presence in the theatre of claqueurs opposed to Bellini and Giuditta Pasta.

The plot of the opera Norma is set in Gaul, during the Roman Empire, and has obvious links to the myth of Medea. The opera, centering on the title character, becomes a triumph of some great sopranos of the past, including Maria Callas, Joan Sutherland, and Montserrat Caballé. The complexity of the role's character and its virtuosic vocal specificity make it one of the most difficult roles for a soprano voice, so much so that today the opera is better known than performed.Nevertheless - Italy is in awe of Vincenzo Bellini's Norma and the title does not leave the posters of major opera houses and open-air festival stages.

"Norma - premiere on 16 May 2024.

Norma opera in two acts by Vincenzo Bellini

PREMIERE 16 May /Thursday/, 2024, 19.00. , Opera Stage

Conductor Dian Tchobanov

Directed by Giandomenico Vaccari

Set and costume design Salvatore Russo

Choreographer Mladen Stanev

Choreography Romina Slavova

Concertmaster Anna Ivanova

ACTORS AND PERFORMERS:

Norma Tanya Ivanova

Polione Mikhailo Malafi