That staging imagined Pollione as a waffling liberal politician. Who are the barbarians and who are the civilizers here, exactly? Calleja made his debut in this role just last year in Alex Ollé's Catholic Taliban production at the Royal Opera House. No so for Pollione: Calleja plays him like a macho man, taking whatever he wants and never apologizing. Joseph Calleja plays Pollione, and Joyce DiDonato plays Adalgisa in Norma at the Metropolitan Opera. Radvanovsky gives a revelatory performance that shows Norma for who she really is: a woman who is constantly struggling against her own selfish urges for the sake of peace and the greater good. We would follow her anywhere, so it's only natural that these operatic Celts would do the same. We experience Norma's power of persuasion firsthand as Radvanovsky holds us transfixed for a time-stopping interpretation of "Casta Diva." Her glistening voice floats over the room, beseeching our patience and wrapping us in its warm embrace. Radvanovsky illuminates Norma's internal struggle in a performance that is literally breathtaking. Will this be the injury that finally convinces Norma to let slip the dogs of war? Now Pollione is dropping Norma for a younger woman, a novice of her order named Adalgisa (Joyce DiDonato). But she has a terrible secret: For years she has been having an affair with the Roman proconsul, Pollione (Joseph Calleja), resulting in two children. Only high priestess Norma (Sondra Radvanovsky) can quell their rage. Set in Roman-occupied Gaul, the story opens with an army of Celtic warriors prepared to strike back against their oppressors. This is an unfortunate misstep for an opera that has all the right ingredients for combustion. The attractive druid imagery of the design and top-notch vocal performances are marred by an often-static staging. One leader holds it all together through sheer force of will, but how long can that last? OK, so France was actually called Gaul in the time period of Felice Romani and Vincenzo Bellini's Norma, but the political situation that undergirds this classic bel canto opera could describe a lot of different places today and throughout history, including Gaul's geographic successor.ĭirector David McVicar opts for a more traditional setting (the ancient one originally envisioned by Bellini and Romani), resulting in a beautiful, if occasionally boring production. Open hostility looms against a backdrop of religious fervor.
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