'Norma' comes to China for first time

Rachele Stanisci (Center)plays the lead role in Norma at the NCPA on Thursday. Photo: Courtesy of NCPA

The early 19th century was the era of bel canto. Following the classical master Mozart, yet before the later genius of Wagner and Verdi, the times stood witness to three outstanding musicians: Rossini (1792-1868), Donizetti (1797-1848) and Bellini (1801-35). While works by the former two have previously been presented in China, such as L'Elisir d'Amore and Barbiere di Siviglia, it wasn't until this month that the complete version of the latter's opera, Norma, finally debuted in China.

Performed at the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing from Thursday to Sunday, the performance was divided among two teams, with the A team, the leads played mainly by overseas performers, performing on Thursday and Saturday, and the B team, mainly local performers, performing on Friday and Sunday.

Greek style tragedy

The story of Norma takes place in 50 BC, after Gaul fell under Roman occupation. Norma, the high priestess of a group of druids, has had a secret affair with their enemy, the Roman proconsul Pillione, giving birth to two sons. For this reason, she has continually prayed for peace and kept her people from going to war.

However, Pillione betrays Norma by seducing the young novice druid priestess Adalgisa. After Pillione persuades Adalgisa to run away with him, Adalgisa goes to Norma to renounce her vows with their god, ignorant of her beloved leader Norma's relationship with Pillione. Due to her own experiences with love, Norma shows mercy and understanding at first, but then she finds that the man they love is the same person. At this point Pillione appears and confesses his love for Adalgisa, which angers Norma.

Feeling betrayed by the man she loved, Norma urges her people to attack the Romans in revenge and threatens Pollione that she will execute Adalgisa and their children. However, in the end she realizes that she too is guilty for breaking her vows as a priestess and chooses to be burned at the stake for her crimes. Pillione, moved by her nobility, decides to enter the pyre with her together.

Norma received high praise from some critics in China for successfully presenting the complicated humanity of its heroine. "The greatest creator of this opera is the script writer rather than the composer. He made an opera with the grandeur of Shakespeare and the elegance and power of an ancient Greek tragedy," Wang Bin, a critic, wrote on his Weibo account after watching the opera.

Stage design also contributed greatly to the success of the performance. The round moon and the sets depicting night scenes symbolized the female lead of the story. Giant shields shaped like the full moon, implied that behind the gentle moonlight and this woman's love, lay something strong and full of power. Meanwhile, the naturalistic and bourgeois house set presented the profound loneliness and isolation of the heroine.

"I conceived the circular shape that characterizes the scene, in addition to calling to mind the shield and therefore the war that hangs over the future of Norma, like a great mirror of the unconscious… I brought forth to the 'sorceress' Norma the visions of the tragedy to come, the images of fire, war and infanticide," wrote director Pier'Alli, a former architect major, in the opera's program.

Feminine strength

The role of Norma is one of the most difficult characters for opera singers. A soprano needs both strength and dramatic force to show the power of a druid leader/priestess who must carry the burden of her people, while also showing the struggles of a woman in love. The opera's most famous aria "Casta Diva" (Chaste Goddess) requires immense talent to match the music's high pitch while presenting a sense of gracefulness, pureness and delicate love.

"If the public image of Norma is that of absolute rigor and solid power so as to keep in check the bellicose desires of the druidic people, then the private image is that of a woman tormented by powerful inner conflicts, but who knows how to prevail over them by responding with extreme determination," wrote Pier'Alli.

Rachele Stanisci starred in the role of Norma for the concert version of the opera performed with the Shenzhen Symphony Orchestra last year. Praised for her performance, she joined the A team for this year's complete version of the opera. With her great voice and amazing talent she did a wonderful job depicting the dramatic conflicts rising from being a leader, mother and abandoned lover.

Sun Xiuwei, who starred as Norma for the B team, made no attempt to conceal her love for the role, "I think she is a character that challenges soprano's to the extreme. I feel her character has the most beautiful music out of any role I've played in my career."

Norma is not the only challenging role for female opera singers. The other main role, Adalgisa, also requires a lot from mezzo-sopranos, as the music contains numerous high pitched notes. Although supposedly a sweet young girl, the difficulty of the role means traditionally Adalgisa has been played by older more experienced singers instead of someone younger.

Sonia Ganassi, the Adalgisa for the A team, first played the role about 20 years ago. At a press conference held in Beijing on August 26, the 48-year-old Italian mezzo-soprano admitted that the role is very challenging and that she was very excited to return to it.

Late success

The story of Norma was originally based on a drama written by French poet Alexandre Soumet.

Bellini and his lyrics partner Felice Romani selected the story in 1831 especially for the sought-after soprano Guiditta Pasta, who had helped make Bellini's La Sonnambula a success earlier that year with her performance as Amina.

At first Pasta was not willing to sing "Casta Diva," as she felt it didn't suit her vocal abilities. However, Bellini persuaded her to perform as Norma, leading to the premiere of the opera at La Scala in December to be, in the words of Bellini himself a "Fiasco! Fiasco! Solemn fiasco!"

However, like a miracle, the opera was received more warmly by the audience during its second performance. Soon after, Norma spread throughout Europe, with "Casta Diva" eventually becoming one of the most famous arias of the 19th century. The opera is now seen as one of Bellini's greatest masterpieces.