Norma (opera)

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Work data
Title: Norma
Theater bill of the premiere

Theater bill of the premiere

Shape: Opera in two acts
Original language: Italian
Music: Vincenzo Bellini
Libretto : Felice Romani
Literary source: Norma, ou L'infanticide by Alexandre Soumet
Premiere: December 26, 1831
Place of premiere: Teatro alla Scala , Milan
Playing time: about 3 hours
Place and time of the action: Gaul, during the Roman occupation, about 50 years before Christ
people
  • Oroveso, the supreme druid ( bass )
  • Pollione, the Roman proconsul in Gaul ( tenor )
  • Flavio, Pollione's friend (tenor)
  • Norma, Oroveso's daughter, the high priestess ( soprano or soprano sfogato )
  • Adalgisa, novice in the temple service of Irminsul (soprano)
  • Clotilde, Norma's friend ( mezzo-soprano )
  • Two little sons, Polliones and Normas ( silent roles )
  • Druids, bards, priestesses, Gallic warriors, soldiers ( choir , extras)

Norma is a tragic opera (original name: "tragedia lirica") in two acts by Vincenzo Bellini . The libretto is by Felice Romani and is based on a drama by Alexandre Soumet . The premiere with Giuditta Pasta in the title role took place in 1831 at La Scala in Milan . The role of Norma is considered to be one of the most difficult and demanding roles for a high female voice and ideally demands an actress with great expressive skills. The Cavatine “Casta diva” by Norma in the first act is particularly famous .

action

prehistory

The opera takes place in Rome occupied Gaul in the first century BC . The Druids - high priestess Norma has years before the Roman proconsul in love Pollione and their vow of chastity broken. Since then she has had a secret love affair, which is strictly forbidden, and they have two children with each other, whom Norma keeps hidden.

first act

In the sacred grove of the druids, the Gallic warriors gather for the sacred ceremony, during which the priestess Norma will cut the sacred mistletoe with a golden sickle . The warriors expect from her an indication that the moon goddess agrees to fight the Romans. Oroveso, Norma's father, asks the men to be patient.

Nearby, Pollione tells his confidante Flavio that he has fallen in love with the young novice Adalgisa. On the other hand, Pollione is afraid of Norma's reaction if she learns about it and reports an ominous dream. From a distance the sound of the bronze shield of the druids can be heard, and the two Romans leave.

Norma makes her solemn entry into the grove and tries to appease the impatient Gauls that Rome will perish at the right time and through her own fault. Because of her secret love for Pollione and her children, she is not interested in war, even for personal reasons, but wishes and commands peace. Then it begins with the sacred ceremony ( Casta Diva ). But even after that the Gauls are still belligerent and are only waiting for a sign to destroy the Romans, while Norma secretly longs for her beloved Pollione ( Ah! Bello a me ritorna ).

Trio Norma-Adalgisa-Pollione with Domenico Donzelli , Giulia Grisi (as Adalgisa) and Giuditta Pasta , Milan 1831

Adalgisa comes alone to the grove at night to meet in secret with Pollione. She is full of remorse because of her vow and her feelings of love for Pollione. When he arrives, he urges her to flee with him.

In her house, Norma is torn between motherly love and rejection of her children, whom she entrusts to her old friend Clotilde. Adalgisa appears and tearfully confesses to Norma that she has fallen in love and would like to be released from her vow. During her narration, Norma feels reminded of her own situation, is deeply touched and promises to help Adalgisa. But when it turns out that Adalgisa is talking about Pollione and that Pollione appears at the same moment, Norma breaks out in anger and a terrible scene occurs between the three of them. Pollione does not want to give up Adalgisa, but she is shocked when she learns the truth about his relationship with Norma; Norma swears revenge.

Second act

Norma is completely desperate, she can no longer bear her situation and wants to kill her two children first, then herself. But when she steps up to the baby's bed, her mother's love wins . She has Adalgisa called, confesses to her that she wants to put an end to her own life and asks her to go to Rome with Pollione as his wife and to be a good ( step-) mother for Norma's children . But Adalgisa has meanwhile held inner contemplation, reminds her of her motherly love ( Mira, o Norma, ai tuoi ginocchi ) and wants Norma and Pollione to get back together, she offers herself as a mediator. The two women happily embrace in great friendship .

In the sacred forest of the druids, the Gallic men are still impatient and just waiting to attack the Romans, but Oroveso calms them down.

In the temple of Irminsul , Clotilde tells Norma that Adalgisa has returned from Pollione, but that he still wants to return to Rome with Adalgisa. Norma feels betrayed by both of them and is completely beside herself. She hits the shield bitterly and gives the signal to fight the Romans. The Gauls appear full of wild joy and sing the rustling war song ( Guerra! Guerra! ). But first the happy outcome of the fight is to be conjured up by a sacrifice: a Roman has been captured who has dishonored the sanctuary. To Norma's horror, it turns out to be Pollione. When Norma is supposed to kill him with the sacrificial dagger, she fails and interrupts the ceremony under the pretext that she has to interrogate him first.

Luigi Lablache and Giulia Grisi (as Norma) in the final, London 1843

In private she demands of Pollione to renounce Adalgisa, but he refuses, even when Norma threatens to kill their children in revenge. Finally, she threatens to extradite Adalgisa as complicit and to deliver to death by fire.

When the desperate Pollione tries to snatch the dagger from her, she calls the Gauls together and has a pyre built for a priestess who has broken the law of chastity. But when she is asked for the name of the guilty, she confesses her own guilt to the amazement and horror of all ( Son io ). She entrusts her children to the protection of Oroveso ( Deh! Non volerli vittime ), asks for forgiveness and approaches her death calmly . Overwhelmed and seized by new love, Pollione follows her.

layout

orchestra

Following the critical edition by Maurizio Biondi and Riccardo Minasi, the orchestral line-up of the opera includes the following instruments:

Musical and scenic structure

  • Sinfonia

Act I.

In the sacred grove of the druids

  • Introduzione: Ite sul colle, o Druidi (choir, Oroveso)
  • Recitative and Cavatina des Pollione: Svanir le voci! - Meco all'altar di Venere - Me protegge, me difende (Pollione, Flavio)
  • Choir: Norma viene
  • Scena and Cavatina of Norma: Sediziose voci - Casta Diva - Fine al rito - Ah, bello a me ritorna (Norma, Oroveso, choir)
  • Scena and duet Adalgisa, Pollione: Sgombra è la sacra selva - Eccola - Va ', crudele, al Dio spietato - Vieni in Roma (Adalgisa, Pollione)

Normas apartment

  • Scena and duet Norma, Adalgisa: Vanne, e li cela entrambi - Oh, rimembranza - Sola, furtiva, al tempio (Norma, Clotilde, Adalgisa)
  • (Finale I) Scena and Terzett Norma, Adalgisa, Pollione: Ma dí ... l'amato giovane - Tremi tu? e per chi? - Ah! di qual sei tu vittima - Perfido! - Vanne, sì, mi lascia indegno (Norma, Adalgisa, Pollione)

Act II

In Norma's house at night

  • Introduzione and Scena: Dormono entrambi (Norma, Clotilde)
  • Scena and Duet Norma, Adalgisa: Mi chiami, o Norma? - Deh! con te, con te li prendi ... - Mira, o Norma, ai tuoi ginocchi - Sì, fino all'ore estreme compagna tua m'avrai (Norma, Adalgisa)

In the sacred forest of the druids

  • Choir: Non partì? ... Finora è al campo
  • (Scena &) Sortita des Oroveso: Guerrieri! a voi venirne - Ah! del Tebro al giogo indegno (Oroveso, choir)

In the temple of Irminsul

  • Scena: Egg tornerà! Sì! (Norma, Clotilde)
  • Choir: Squilla il bronzo del Dio! - Guerra, guerra! le galliche selve (choir, Oroveso, Norma)
  • Scena: Né compi il rito, o Norma? (Oroveso, Norma, choir)
  • Scena and Duet Norma, Pollione: In mia man alfin tu sei - Gia mi pasco nei tuoi sguardi (Norma, Pollione)
  • (Finale II) Scena and Aria Finale: Dammi quel ferro - Qual cor tradisti, qual cor perdesti - Norma! deh Norma! scòlpati - Deh! non volerli vittime (Norma, Pollione, Chor, Oroveso)

dramaturgy

Set design for Norma by Alessandro Sanquirico (1777–1849)

The opera is structured according to the tableau aesthetic, i.e. as a sequence of images within which the actors act. The pictures are musically completed numbers, which are usually referred to as "scene and aria", "scene and duet" etc. That is why the pictures are often equated with a scene, even if minor characters or the choir occasionally appear or step down within the picture. (Strictly speaking, every appearance or departure establishes a new scene.) As with other Italian operas of the time it was written, these 9 to 15-minute pictures consist of a two-part aria (usually called Cavatina ) with an introductory recitative and a scene in between the two parts that motivate the change of pace. The first part ( Cantabile ) is often slow and allows e.g. B. a melancholy, painful or wistful affect, the second part ( cabaletta ), on the other hand, is usually fast, captures emotions such as joy, determination, anger or revenge and at the same time enables the singers to have an impressive and grandiose finish. Eight of the fourteen numbers (Nos. 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 13, 14) are based on this aria model, which increases in several waves. The other pictures (four choral movements and two recitatives) are shorter, in the extreme only a good minute like the famous war choir No. 12.

In addition to the extraordinary beauty and expressiveness of the melodies, the special quality of Norma lies in the fact that Bellini varies this model of scene and aria in a variety of musical ways, often creating flowing transitions between recitative, arioso and aria, and the nuances of the text and the feelings are subtle and Considered in every detail.

music

Vincenzo Bellini

Bellini's music, which is fully developed in his eighth opera Norma , was conceived by him as new and innovative and was also perceived as such by his contemporaries. His music was supposed to express the word directly and thus make text and music appear as an indissoluble unit. As a result, in contrast to the previous Rossini period, there are far fewer coloraturas, but rather syllabic (one note per syllable) and melisms (few notes per syllable).

Ornaments and even virtuoso coloratura are still part of Bellini's musical language and are used with great emotional impact. On the one hand, they give the title role, which is designed as a draft horse for the prima donna Giuditta Pasta, shine and bravura, as in the Cavatina “Casta diva” with its roulades that slide down chromatically and the accompanying cabaletta “Ah! bello a me ritorna ”. On the other hand, coloratura (as in the Baroque) support the portrayal of special feelings, such as Norma's outburst of rage in “O, non tremare, o perfido” in the trio with Adalgisa and Pollione when she learns of his infidelity; or the pleading, heartbreaking Fioritur on “Ah padre! un prego ancor ”shortly before Norma's“ Deh! non volerli vittime ”in the second final. In the stretta of the second duet by Norma and Adalgisa ("Sì, fino all'ore estreme compagna tua m'avrai") the joy of the two women is not only expressed through jumps, rhythmic syncopation and runs, but also through briefly staccato notes expressed. In addition to these examples, which Bellini himself composed, one can assume that, according to the performance practice of bel canto at the time, repetitions (such as second stanzas), especially in solo numbers, are to be changed and provided with decorations that ideally reflect the expression of the respective Piece must be appropriate.

Bellini's melody, whose novelty is particularly evident in the slow parts, is characterized by the impression of the lyrical, sublime and transcendent. The "long, long melodies" (Verdi) are based on a strong melodic intensity and a clear, folk song-like symmetry, mostly two-bar units, which are often rounded to form eight-bar periods on the basis of rhythmic-melodic germ cells. The standard structure of both the cantabile and the cabaletta is: two periods, intermediate part (partly with chorus or secondary characters), repetition of the two periods and finally coda. The deviations are significant and justified by the text or affect. The cantabile is immersed in an aura of meditative calm through evenly flowing triad breaks in the accompaniment and a simple harmony, which is supported by a rather economical, restrained instrumentation. Hence Bellini's reputation as the great melancholy. Passages in which he expresses livelier feelings are all the more intense. B. the glowing excitement in the first part of the duet by Pollione and Adalgisa "Va, crudele" in the 1st act, or the surprisingly explosive war choir No. 12 in the 2nd act, which his teacher Niccolò Zingarelli rejected as barbaric, but which in the course the unification movement of Italy was even used as a battle song of the insurgents.

Self-bonds

Bellini borrowed some of his own earlier works: Normas Cabaletta “Ah! bello a me ritorna ”(to the aria“ Casta Diva ”) in the 1st act and the chorus“ Non partì ”in the 2nd act, he took over in a slightly modified form from the second version by Bianca e Fernando (1828); he had also used the choir in Zaira (1829). Part of the duet by Adalgisa and Pollione, beginning with the words "Sol promessa al Dio tu fosti", contains material from No. 3 "Bella Nice che d'amore" by Bellini's Sei ariette per camera , which he published in 1829 by Ricordi would have. In the second duet by Norma and Adalgisa (in the 2nd act) the section “Teco del fato all'onte” comes from a duet in the 1st act by Adelson e Salvini (1825). He also took over some passages from the incomplete and never performed score of an opera Ernani , on which he had worked in 1830.

Emergence

Felice Romani

On July 23, 1831, Bellini wrote from Como in a letter to Lamperi that the subject of the new opera ordered for the carnival season 1831–32 at La Scala in Milan was now fixed and based on the tragedy Norma by Alexandre Soumet . In addition, suggestions from some earlier operas with similar subjects were incorporated: La vestale by Spontini and Jouy (1807, Paris), and Romani's own libretti for La sacerdotessa d'Irminsul by Pacini (1820, Trieste) and Medea in Corinto by Mayr (1813, Naples).

According to a letter to the planned prima donna Giuditta Pasta, who had created Bellini's La sonnambula the same year before and who was familiar with performances of Soumet's tragedy Norma in Paris, Bellini began composing around September 1, after he had written Romani s the day before Had received a draft. On September 7th he had already finished the sinfonia and designed the introduzione choir . After five operas together, composer and librettist were a well-rehearsed team and worked closely together. Bellini wanted a stringent plot in which Romani should delete everything superfluous. The finale of Soumet's play, where the title heroine goes insane at the end and falls from a slope, was not taken over.

A letter from Mercadante shows that the opera must have been almost finished by the end of November, because rehearsals began in December. From the autograph score and some sketches, however, it appears that Bellini made corrections and changes until shortly before the premiere. The composer is said to have reworked Norma's famous performance aria “Casta Diva” eight times, because the pasta was allegedly never satisfied with the aria - this cannot be proven on the basis of the material that has survived and perhaps belongs to the realm of legend . What is certain is that the aria was originally (and in the autograph) in G major, but had to be transposed down by one note during rehearsals for the voice of the pasta (after F major).

Performances and reception

Giuditta Pasta as Norma
Giulia Grisi
Domenico Donzelli

At the premiere on December 26, 1831, Giuditta Pasta sang Norma, Giulia Grisi as Adalgisa, Domenico Donzelli as Pollione and Vincenzo Negrini as Oroveso. Despite the excellent singers, the opera did not fail completely, but the audience received it more coolly than hoped, and the composer expressed his disappointment and his own dissatisfaction with some parts of the opera in a letter to his friend Florimo (who wrote the letter later "Corrected"). From other letters it emerges that large parts of the first act were in fact applauded, but not the trio that concluded the act - which did not correspond to the tradition of a larger finale with all participants - and that the second act was almost entirely liked, except for the druid choir "Non partì". Bellini and the singers were called in front of the curtain four times at the end.
It was later said that Countess Yuliya Samoylova , a friend and lover of Bellini's competitor Giovanni Pacini , tried to undermine Bellini's success with the help of intrigue and a paid claque . The composer Gaetano Donizetti, on the other hand, was enthusiastic about the new opera from the start.
In the second and subsequent performances, however , Norma received increasing applause, and some contemporary sources indicate that the initial failure was probably due to the unusual and new perceived musical language and structure of the opera. This is also revealed in a letter from Gian Iacopo Pezzi in the Gazzetta privilegiata di Milano of January 3, 1832, after the fourth performance, where it says: “Bellini's music is declamatory, he makes it sensible to serve the word and precisely because
if it goes an unusual way, our ears need a longer period of attention in order to be able to judge it correctly. ” It can be taken for sure that after the sixth performance, when Bellini left for Naples on January 5, 1832 , Norma was definitely on Ways of success was. The following performances under the direction of the composer in Bergamo (from August 22, 1832) and in Venice were successful. In London in June 1833 the opera also received good reviews in the Times .

A performance at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples in 1834 with Maria Malibran in the title role was a triumph. The work quickly spread to the Italian and European stages and was performed for the first time in Vienna and London in 1833 , in Paris in 1835 and in New York in 1854 .

Richard Wagner conducted Norma performances in Riga in 1837 and, although his own musical ideals (later?) Were completely contrary to the Italian bel canto, he wrote about the opera: “We need not be ashamed of shedding a tearful tear when we hear them hear ... People think that I hate the entire Italian school and Bellini in particular. No, a thousand times no! Bellini is one of my preferences because his music is strongly felt and closely intertwined with the words ”.

Jenny Lind as Norma, before 1848

Leading interpreters of the title role in the 19th century were pasta and Malibran, in particular Giuditta and Giulia Grisi , Giuseppina Ronzi de Begnis , Jenny Lind and, towards the end of the century, Lilli Lehmann . This is considered to be “the last Norma directly in the tradition of Belcanto. In the meantime, due to the largely enforced division of subjects, an adequate realization of the title role was hardly possible: Norma was occupied by dramatic sopranos whose verismo- oriented style of singing did not do justice to the character of the work. "

Like other bel canto operas , Norma was almost forgotten in the first half of the 20th century , and there were hardly any female singers who could even begin to do justice to the title role. One exception was Rosa Ponselle , who worked on performances at the Metropolitan Opera with Tullio Serafin in the 1920s and 30s and was considered "the" norm of her time.
A return to the original bel canto intentions of the title role - and thus a renaissance of the work, which was seldom played in the first half of the 20th century - took place mainly from 1948 onwards by Maria Callas , who, like Ponselle, was introduced to the role by Serafin, and their interpretations in a total of 89 appearances (so in 1949 in Buenos Aires , 1950 in Mexico City , from 1952 in Milan and London or 1956 in New York) and in two complete studio recordings on record (1954 and 1960 at EMI) shaped the work. "The Callas-Norma has not only remained unmatched to this day, but also without a convincing alternative." Other important interpreters of the role in the second half of the 20th century were Leyla Gencer , Elena Souliotis , Renata Scotto , Joan Sutherland , Anita Cerquetti and Montserrat Caballé , and at the beginning of the 21st century Nelly Miricioiu and Edita Gruberová (2007).

A return to the musical performance practice of the 19th century with the original instrumentation marked the performances with the mezzo-soprano Cecilia Bartoli in the title role, which were presented in concert at the Dortmund Concert Hall in 2010 and staged at the Salzburg Whitsun Festival in 2013 (resumption in 2015 at the Salzburg Festival ).

Casting of the two women's roles

Giulia Grisi as Norma, London 1844. Grisi was the original Adalgisa and a little later became a famous interpreter of the title role

Norma

The adequate casting of the title role is not that easy due to the technical, expressive, dramatic and, last but not least, stylistic requirements. Lilli Lehmann found the game “as exhausting as 10 Leonors” or like three Brünnhilden. Richard Bonynge , conductor and bel canto specialist, said: "The opera demands almost too much from a soprano: the greatest potential for dramatic expression, superhuman emotional powers, a perfect bel canto technique, a voice of class and size - and many other qualities".

Giuditta Pasta (1797–1865), for whom Bellini composed the role, had a very special vocal profile that did not quite correspond to the usual ideas of the time because their registers were not balanced and, on the other hand, sometimes went beyond them. According to Henry F. Chorley (1808–1872), Pasta's voice was "originally limited, breathy and weak ... a mediocre mezzo-soprano ". After hard training, at the height of her career, however, her voice had a range of about 2½ octaves , roughly from the low a to the high d '' '. and also a "great fluency and brilliance" (" volubility and brilliancy "), and above all "depth and authenticity of expression ... like only a few before her" ( "... depth and reality of expression ... as few (...) before her ... " ). The somewhat blurred and outdated term soprano sfogato was coined for Pasta's voice , which in more modern times was defined by Kesting as an “extended soprano with coloratura agility and dramatic verve”, and by Riccardo Minasi as a mezzo-soprano with excellent high notes or as Soprano with a lush voce di petto or chest voice. The voice of Norma is seldom led into the low register, e.g. B. in the recitative with Clotilde (shortly before the appearance of Adalgisa) matching the words "... troppo orrendo è un tal dubbio" (act I, scene 2). Pasta did not sing the role for very long, as she suffered from a progressive decline in her vocal resources as early as 1835 and only rarely appeared after that.

A singer whose voice, vocal technique and style has often been compared with contemporary descriptions of the art of Giuditta Pasta and who, in the opinion of some vocal connoisseurs, probably resembled pasta, was Maria Callas , who in the 20th century and to this day often considered the ideal interpreter of Norma is seen.

In the early history of the performance, some mezzo-sopranos sang the Norma: Maria Malibran (1808–1836), who died early, was a kind of vocal wonder in contrast to pasta, was also known as soprano sfogato , and can be clearly defined as a mezzo-soprano extended upwards - and Giuditta Grisi (1805-1840). However, the question is whether the part was adapted to the voice of the respective interpreter for such cases, as was perfectly customary in the 19th century. For Giuditta Grisi it was (like other roles) probably transposed down to a third, because the singer would not have been able to get through the higher degree of soprano sfogato without damaging her voice.

Other important interpreters of the role were clearly sopranos, such as Giuseppina Ronzi de Begnis (1800-1853), who sang the role longer than Pasta and Malibran, from 1834-1843 , and Giulia Grisi (1811-1869), the first Adalgisa, who Bellini didn't trust herself at first that she would be up to the role because, in his opinion, she didn't have the necessary style and training. Grisi turned out to be one of the best Norma interpreters ever, and sang the role for about 20 years, between 1835 (in Paris and London) and at least 1855 (in the USA). Henry F. Chorley thought their interpretation was better than that of the pasta, and Théophile Gautier wrote enthusiastically in 1844:

“Norma is Giulia Grisi, and Irminsul certainly never had a priestess more beautiful and better inspired. She surpasses the ideal ... Norma is Giulia Grisi's triumph. Nobody who has not seen her in this role can say that he knows her; in her she shows herself to be as great a tragedy as she is a perfect singer. The art of song, passion, beauty, it has it all; suppressed rage, sublime violence, threats and tears, love and anger; never has a woman poured out her soul like this when creating a role ... that is truly the tragic muse, the Melpomene , of which Aeschylus and Phidias may have dreamed. "

- Théophile Gautier

In other ways, too, the role was usually occupied by a soprano and is indicated in most sources today, e.g. a. also in Piper's Encyclopedia of Musical Theater . Mezzo-sopranos have very seldom dared to take on this already strenuous role for sopranos, as in the 1970s Shirley Verrett (rare) or 2013 Cecilia Bartoli , who expressed her personal (not really proven) conviction in interviews that Giuditta Pasta was a mezzo; Bartoli's statement was also used elsewhere, e.g. B. in newspaper articles rumored.

Adalgisa

The original part of Adalgisa is a "normal" soprano and is performed in the same height in the duets with Norma, but in contrast to Norma never in a depth that is unusual for a soprano. Cecilia Bartoli wrote: "Nonetheless, the differences between Adalgisa and Norma in terms of position and virtuosity are not that important - in the manuscript all three female roles are designated as" soprano "."
The first Adalgisa Giulia Grisi was only in her early twenties and in 1831 at that time probably still had a relatively light, youthful voice, as it corresponds to the very young, innocent figure. In the course of time, however, this role was mostly occupied by a mezzo-soprano, which stems from a later standard way of thinking in the casting policy of opera roles, but cannot be justified musically or in terms of content.

Nonetheless, attempts have seldom been made to have Adalgisa sing by a soprano again since the late 20th century. Probably the first attempt in this direction was the 1984 recording of the opera with Joan Sutherland as Norma and Montserrat Caballé as Adalgisa under Richard Bonynge - Caballé herself was also an important interpreter of the title role. In the 2010s, Adalgisa was again cast with a soprano in performances with Cecilia Bartoli , as well as in her CD recording with Sumi Jo as Adalgisa, which was released in 2016 .

New edition 2015

In 2015 Maurizio Biondi and Riccardo Minasi published a new critical edition of the opera based on the current state of research. For this purpose, the editors essentially used the autograph score, which was provided with numerous changes by the composer, which they compared with contemporary copies in order to determine the chronological order of the adjustments. Further sources were the oldest piano reduction prints and the sparsely preserved orchestral parts. The oldest score edition, on the other hand, turned out to be extremely flawed and unreliable.

The Cavatine "Casta diva" is in G major in the autograph. In the rehearsal phase for the premiere, however, Bellini transposed it a whole tone lower to F major in order to better adapt it to the voice of Giuditta Pasta. This lower version, which has mostly been sung since then (by Maria Callas , Montserrat Caballé and Cecilia Bartoli, among others ), including the corresponding transitions, was included in the new edition as Appendix 1. Bellini himself preferred the original position, however, according to later corrections, which extends to the high c '' 'and was sung by some interpreters even before the new edition, including Joan Sutherland and Edita Gruberova .

Appendix 2 of the new edition contains the uncut original version of the cabaletta “Vieni in Roma, ah!” By the duet Adalgisa / Pollione. The cabaletta of the Norma / Adalgisa duet “Ah sì, fa core” in the first act again contains the third stanza (Appendix 3), which has meanwhile been deleted. For the trio “Vanne, sì, mi lascia indegno” at the end of the first act, there is a long stanza from Adalgisa, which was probably already heard at the premiere. It has come down to us in a version that can be regarded as authentic by the composer Francesco Florimo, who was a friend of Bellini (Appendix 4). The duet “Oh! rimembranza ”, which was given the name Moderato assai in the older Ricordi edition , is now an andante agitato like in the autograph . The battle cry of the druids “Guerra, guerra!” Has been handed down in two different versions: on the one hand the mostly played minor version, on the other hand a version with a coda that repeats the major part of the introductory symphonia with harp arpeggios. The orchestration thus differs from that of the Sinfonia. The piece was entered in the score manuscript not by Bellini himself, but by a copyist. In the past, therefore, some performers chose to use the Sinfonia line-up instead. Biondi pointed out that the changed line-up is contained in a copy that is likely intended for the premiere at La Scala and thus comes from Bellini himself. The major version was included as Appendix 5. The choir “Vanne al rogo” is now based on the autograph. Older editions contained a version of unclear origin. In 2013, before the new edition was published, a CD with Cecilia Bartoli in the title role and the La Scintilla orchestra under Giovanni Antonini was released .

Musical arrangements

The enormous popularity and admiration for the opera is also attested by numerous compositions in which contemporary composers and instrumental virtuosos deal with themes from Bellini's Norma . Only the most interesting examples can be mentioned here. Frédéric Chopin , who is known to be an admirer of Bellini, composed the Cavatine “Casta Diva” for piano, and Friedrich Wilhelm Kalkbrenner composed piano variations (Op. 122). Other famous piano virtuosos wrote fantasies about melodies of the opera, such as Sigismund Thalberg in his Grande Fantaisie et Variations sur des motifs de l'opéra 'Norma' ( op. 12) and Franz Liszt in his Réminiscences de Norma (p. 394), published around 1844 was first published. Carl Czerny composed several works on operatic themes, including two " Grandes fantaisies sur des motifs favoris de 'Norma' ", Op. 689 (1842). Ferdinand Beyer wrote a Norma waltz .

Some violin virtuosos took on the opera in a similar way. The Belgian violinist Charles Auguste de Bériot - Maria Malibran's second husband - composed a Fantaisie concertante sur 'Norma' Op. 28 for violin and piano, and Henri Vieuxtemps and Alexandre Joseph Artôt also composed Fantasies on Norma for violin and orchestra.

Trivia

The Sicilian recipe Pasta alla Norma and the asteroid (555) Norma are named after Bellini's opera and its heroine.

literature

  • Michele Calella : Norma without words, or: How do you “tell” opera fantasies? In: Hinrichsen / Pietschmann (eds.): Beyond the stage: Forms of processing and reception of opera in the 19th and 20th centuries (= Swiss contributions to music research ; 15), Kassel 2010, pp. 71–87.
  • Jens Malte Fischer: Big Voices , Suhrkamp, ​​Stuttgart 1995
  • Jürgen Kesting: Maria Callas , Econ Taschenbuch, Düsseldorf & Munich, 1990/1998
  • David RB Kimbell: Vincenzo Bellini - Norma (in the series: Cambridge Opera Handbooks ), Cambridge University Press, 1998, p. 107. Online in excerpts as a Google Book (English; accessed on August 16, 2020)
  • Francesco Lora: "Negri (Pasta), Giuditta (Angiola Maria Costanza Giuditta)", in: Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani , Volume 78, 2013. Online in "Treccani" (Italian; viewed August 20, 2019)
  • Simon Maguire & Elizabeth Forbes: Norma , in: Grove Music online (fully accessible only with subscription; English; accessed August 16, 2020)
  • Raffaele Monterosso: Bellini, Vincenzo , in: Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani , Volume 7, 1970, article in Treccani (Italian; accessed August 16, 2020)
  • Francesco Regli: Ronzi de Begnis Giuseppina. In: Dizionario biografico: dei più celebri poeti ed artisti melodrammatici, tragici e comici, maestri, concertisti, coreografi, mimi, ballerini, scenografi, giornalisti, impresarii, ecc. ecc. che fiorirono in Italia dal 1800 al 1860. E. Dalmazzo, Turin 1860, p. 459 (Italian; online in the Google book search)
  • Geoffrey S. Riggs: The Assoluta voce in Opera 1797–1847 , MacFarland, 2003 (English; limited preview in the Google book search).
  • Roberto Staccioli: Grisi , in: Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani , Volume 59, 2002, article in Treccani (Italian; accessed August 13, 2020)

Web links

Commons : Norma  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Remarks

  1. ^ Voices according to Piper's Encyclopedia of Music Theater (apart from the title role, which is only given there as a soprano).
  2. ↑ Soprano is mentioned in Bellini's manuscript and in most sources. In the premiere and other contemporary performances, the title role was sung by so-called soprani sfogati - a somewhat hybrid vocal category that was only defined in this way in the bel canto of the 19th century, and corresponds to a soprano with coloratura ability, dramatic expressiveness and large volume, which is more than a full one Chest part, or is sometimes defined as a mezzo-soprano with extended treble, as pointed out by the editors of the new critical edition Maurizio Biondi and Riccardo Minasi .
  3. ↑ The original Adalgisa is a soprano. In later times, however, the instrumentation with a mezzo-soprano has become common.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e Friedrich Lippmann : Norma. In: Piper's Encyclopedia of Musical Theater . Volume 1: Works. Abbatini - Donizetti. Piper, Munich / Zurich 1986, ISBN 3-492-02411-4 , pp. 250-254.
  2. ↑ "... in the manuscript all three female roles are marked with" soprano "." (Quote from Cecilia Bartoli). A norm for Norma? Cecilia Bartoli on the approach to the sound of the "Norma" , in: Program booklet of the Konzerthaus Dortmund on Norma with Cecilia Bartoli, p. 28–33, here: p. 32
  3. ↑ a b c d e f Annette Thein: Norma is a mezzo again - the new edition of Bellini's opera. In: [t] akte 2/2015, p. 10 ( online, PDF ).
  4. ↑ The structure follows the booklet and libretto of the CD recording: Vincenzo Bellini: Norma , with Edita Gruberova , Elina Garanca , Aquiles Machado, Alastair Miles , etc. a., Vocal Ensemble Rastatt, State Philharmonic Rhineland-Palatinate, Friedrich Haider . Nightingale Classics, 2005.
  5. ^ A b Sieghart Döhring , Sabine Henze-Döring: Opera and music drama in the 19th century. Laaber-Verlag 1997 (= handbook of musical genres. Volume 13, edited by Siegfried Mauser), ISBN 3-89007-136-8 , p. 30 f.
  6. ^ Werner Oehlmann : Vincenzo Bellini. Verlag Atlantis, Freiburg / B. 1974, ISBN 3-7611-0447-2 , p. 15.
  7. ↑ Ulrich Schreiber : The art of opera. Volume 2. Gutenberg Book Guild, Frankfurt a. M. 1991, ISBN 3-7632-3962-6 , p. 229.
  8. ↑ David RB Kimbell: Vincenzo Bellini - Norma (in the series: Cambridge Opera Handbooks ), Cambridge University Press, 1998, pp. 120-121. Online in excerpts as a Google Book (English; accessed on August 16, 2020)
  9. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l Raffaele Monterosso: Bellini, Vincenzo , in: Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani , Volume 7, 1970, article in Treccani (Italian; accessed on August 16, 2020)
  10. ↑ a b Simon Maguire & Elizabeth Forbes: Norma , in: Grove Music online (fully accessible only with subscription; English; accessed on August 16, 2020)
  11. ↑ Original quote: "La musica di B. è declamata, ei la fa servire ragionevolmente alla parola ed appunto perché ricalca una via disusata, i nostri orecchi han d'uopo di più lunga attenzione per giudicarla con rettitudine". Raffaele Monterosso: Bellini, Vincenzo , in: Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani , Volume 7, 1970, article in Treccani (Italian; accessed August 16, 2020)
  12. ↑ Apart from Bellini's contemporary testimonies and letters, the mere fact that the opera was performed in various cities and even abroad shows that it cannot have been a complete failure, as it is sometimes said. Because then it would have been canceled very early and disappeared into oblivion, as happened with many other operas of the time, e.g. B. with Pacini's Carlo di Borgogna from 1835, which failed so completely that the composer withdrew from the opera stage for almost five years. (Jeremy Commons: Carlo di Borgogna , booklet text on CD: Giovanni Pacini: Carlo di Borgogna , with Jennifer Larmore, Bruce Ford, Elisabeth Futral and others, Opera Rara ORC21, 2002, p. 9)
  13. ↑ Vincenzo Bellini: Norma , article on Repertoire Explorer (accessed August 17, 2020)
  14. ↑ a b Roberto Staccioli: Grisi , in: Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani , Volume 59, 2002, article in Treccani (Italian; accessed August 13, 2020)
  15. ↑ Francesco Regli: Ronzi de Begnis Giuseppina. In: Dizionario biografico: dei più celebri poeti ed artisti melodrammatici, tragici e comici, maestri, concertisti, coreografi, mimi, ballerini, scenografi, giornalisti, impresarii, ecc. ecc. che fiorirono in Italia dal 1800 al 1860. E. Dalmazzo, Turin 1860, p. 459 (Italian; online in the Google book search).
  16. ↑ a b Geoffrey S. Riggs: The Assoluta voce in Opera 1797–1847 , MacFarland, 2003, p. 138 (English; limited preview in the Google book search).
  17. ^ David RB Kimbell: Vincenzo Bellini - Norma (in the series: Cambridge Opera Handbooks ), Cambridge University Press, 1998, p. 114 f. Online in excerpts as a Google Book (English; accessed on August 16, 2020)
  18. ^ Jens Malte Fischer: Grosse voices , Suhrkamp, ​​Stuttgart 1995, p. 166
  19. ^ Jürgen Kesting: Maria Callas , Econ Taschenbuch, Düsseldorf & Munich, 1990/1998, p. 107
  20. ↑ Recordings from "Casta Diva", Ah! Bello a me ritorna and the duet “Mira, o Norma” with Ponselle have been preserved ( Rosa Ponselle, American Recordings, Vol. 4, 1923-1929 ) ( Great Singers series ), Naxos 2007
  21. ↑ Nelly Miricioiu - committed to Belcanto Interview with Thomas Tillmann in OMM (Online Musik Magazin), September 2001 (accessed on August 17, 2020)
  22. ↑ Cecilia Bartoli : A Norm for Norma? In: Program of the Konzerthaus Dortmund (PDF), pp. 28–33.
  23. ^ Nicole Schuchter: Salzburg Whitsun Festival: Bright enthusiasm for Bartolis "Norma" on salzburg24.at, accessed on September 17, 2019.
  24. ↑ Heidemarie Klabacher: "Norma": No less than a miracle. In: Der Standard , August 3, 2015, accessed on September 17, 2019.
  25. ↑ Leonore from Beethoven's Fidelio is probably meant (or from Verdi's Il Trovatore  ?). David RB Kimbell: Vincenzo Bellini - Norma (in the series: Cambridge Opera Handbooks ), Cambridge University Press, 1998, p. 107. Online in excerpts as a Google Book (English; accessed on August 16, 2020)
  26. ↑ From Wagner. Lilli Lehmann as Norma , on the Metropolitan Opera Archives website (English; accessed on August 16, 2020)
  27. ^ Program booklet of the Dortmund Concert Hall on Norma with Cecilia Bartoli, pp. 28–33, here: p. 25
  28. ↑ "Her voice was, originally, limited, husky, and weak ... a mediocre mezzo-soprano." Henry Fothergill Chorley: Kapitel Madame Pasta , in: Thirty Years' Musical Recollections , Vol. I, Hurst and Blackett, London 1862 , Pp. 125-139, here: p. 128 (reprint: Horizon Press, New York 1983). Online at: Google Books (viewed August 19, 2019)
  29. ↑ George T. Ferris: Giuditta Pasta , in: Great singers , Vol. I ..., New York 1889, pp. 171–196, here: p. 175. Online at: archive.org
  30. ^ Henry Fothergill Chorley: Kapitel Madame Pasta , in: Thirty Years' Musical Recollections , Vol. I, ... London 1862, ..., p. 129. Online at: Google Books
  31. ↑ Jürgen Kesting: Maria Callas , Econ Taschenbuch, Düsseldorf & München, 1990/1998, p. 95 (on soprano sfogato also: pp. 54–55)
  32. ↑ a b c d Norma - a new edition. Conversation with Maurizio Biondi and Riccardo Minasi. In: Supplement to CD Decca 478 3517, 46–47.
  33. ↑ Another name for this type of voice, which Bellini and Donizetti used more frequently in the late bel canto, is a dramatic coloratura soprano (Italian: soprano drammatico d'agilità ).
  34. ↑ "... such a doubt is too terrible"
  35. ↑ Francesco Lora: "Negri (Pasta), Giuditta (Angiola Maria Costanza Giuditta)", in: Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani , Volume 78, 2013. Online on "Treccani" (Italian; viewed August 20, 2019)
  36. ^ Jürgen Kesting: Maria Callas , Econ Taschenbuch, Düsseldorf & Munich, 1990/1998, pp. 52–54
  37. ↑ "L'irruenza del temperamento la portò ad affrontare parti di soprano drammatico, come Norma, Imogene, Alaide, Antonina, Elvira, ma" accomodate "and terza minore sotto la tonalità originale per l'impossibilità di sostenere le tessiture di soprano cosiddetto" sfogato ".". Roberto Staccioli: Grisi , in: Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani , Volume 59, 2002, article in Treccani (Italian; accessed August 13, 2020)
  38. ↑ David RB Kimbell: Vincenzo Bellini - Norma (in the series: Cambridge Opera Handbooks ), Cambridge University Press, 1998, p. 111. Online in excerpts as a Google Book (English; accessed on August 16, 2020)
  39. ↑ David RB Kimbell: Vincenzo Bellini - Norma (in the series: Cambridge Opera Handbooks ), Cambridge University Press, 1998, pp. 111-112. Online in excerpts as a Google Book (English; accessed on August 16, 2020)
  40. ^ "Norma is Giulia Grisi, and never, for sure, did Irminsul have a priestess more lovely or better inspired. She surpasses the ideal. ... Norma is Giulia Grisi's triumph. No-one who has not seen her in this role can say that he knows her; in it she shows herself as great a tragédienne as she is perfect a singer. The art of song, passion, beauty, she has everything; suppressed rage, sublime violence, threats and tears, love and anger; never did a woman so pour out her soul in the creation of a role ... Giulia Grisi achieves a sublimity in this (opening scene of act II) which has never been surpassed; truly this is the tragic muse, the Melpomene of whom Aeschylos and Phidias might have dreamed. ”(English translation of the French orig.). In: David RB Kimbell: Vincenzo Bellini - Norma (in the series: Cambridge Opera Handbooks ), Cambridge University Press, 1998, p. 112. Online in excerpts as a Google Book (English; accessed on August 16, 2020)
  41. ↑ See: "Shirley-Verrett sings Norma at the Met", New York Times March 19, 1979, online (as of August 25, 2019)
  42. ↑ A norm for Norma? Cecilia Bartoli on the approach to the sound of the "Norma" , in: Program booklet of the Konzerthaus Dortmund on Norma with Cecilia Bartoli, p. 28–33, here: p. 32
  43. ↑ Published by Decca. See the new edition of the CD on Amazon (accessed August 13, 2020)
  44. ↑ Published by Decca. See the CD on Amazon (accessed August 13, 2020)
  45. ↑ Bartoli also sings with original instruments and in the somewhat lower tuning of a = 430 Hz, which was common around 1830.
  46. ↑ Vincenzo Bellini: Norma , with Joan Sutherland, Marilyn Horne, John Alexander, Richard Cross, London Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, Richard Bonynge. Decca, 1965.
  47. ↑ Vincenzo Bellini: Norma , with Edita Gruberova, Elina Garanca, Aquiles Machado, Alastair Miles, u. a., Vocal Ensemble Rastatt, State Philharmonic Rhineland-Palatinate, Friedrich Haider. Nightingale Classics, 2005.
  48. ↑ Chopin's Casta Diva on IMSLP (accessed August 16, 2020)
  49. ↑ Kalkbrenner's Thême favori de la 'Norma' de Bellini varié Op.122 on IMSLP ( accessed on August 16, 2020)
  50. ↑ She was u. a. recorded by Francesco Nicolosi. See Grande Fantaisie et Variations sur 'Norma', op.12 on IMSLP (accessed August 16, 2020)
  51. ↑ "Reminiscences de Norma" on IMSLP . It was recorded u. a. by Leslie Howard for Hyperion (accessed August 16, 2020)
  52. ↑ Carl Czerny's 2 Grandes fantaisies sur des motifs favoris de 'Norma' on IMSLP ( accessed on August 16, 2020)
  53. ↑ Beyers Valse sur 'Norma' on IMSLP (accessed August 16, 2020)
  54. ↑ Bériots Fantaisie concertante sur 'Norma' on IMSLP (accessed August 16, 2020)
  55. ↑ Vieuxtemps' Fantaisie sur 'Norma' Op. 18 on IMSLP (accessed August 16, 2020)
  56. ↑ Artôts Fantaisie sur la 'Norma' op 13 on IMSLP (accessed on August 16, 2020)