James Karas
Familiarity in opera breeds enthusiasm, strong opinions and a full
house. That is the expected reaction to the Canadian Opera Company’s production
of Bellini’s Norma as the centerpiece of this fall’s two productions.
Producing Norma without a star
soprano versed in the bel canto
repertoire will not bring the end of the world but it may have deleterious
effects on the opera company and its artistic director. Alexander Neef, the COC’s
General Director, need not worry about his job and Torontonians can hold their
head high about the quality of opera in their congested city.
(in foreground) Russell Thomas as Pollione and Sondra
Radvanovsky as Norma.
Photo: Michael Cooper
Soprano Sondra Radvanovsky has the vocal range, tonal beauty and acting
ability to deliver an extraordinary Norma and she does not disappoint. There
are many ways of playing Norma, the Druid priestess who betrays everything by
falling in love with a Roman proconsul, the enemy of occupied Gaul. As if that
were not bad enough, she has two children by him and he has tired of her and
fallen in love with a young novice priestess named Adalgisa. Try counting the emotional
turmoil that Norma must express – the betrayed lover, the illicit mother who
thinks of murdering her children, the deceived friend and the treacherous
priestess who has betrayed her people.
There is wide latitude for a soprano to deliver a melodramatic, almost
histrionic Norma or a deadly one of the singer lacks the vocal and acting
prowess that the role demands. Radvanovsky maintains a mostly regal composure
that is both noble and emotionally searing. From finding out that her friend
Adalgisa is in love with Pollione to confessing to her followers that she has
betrayed them and stepping into the pyre, this Norma does it all with poise and
emotional grandeur.
Tenor Russell Thomas is terrifically fine foil for this Norma. He has a splendid
voice and his Pollione grows from the deceiving lover into a noble man who
joins Norma in love and death in the ultimate moments of the opera.
Mezzo soprano Isabel Leonard’s Adalgisa is a decent woman who has
betrayed her faith and her friend but she finds nobility as well. Vocally
Leonard does superbly and she is a pleasure to hear especially in her duets
with Norma where the two voices provide both contrast and similarity in tone.
Baritone Dimitry Ivashchenko is a commanding Oroveso, the High Priest
and father of Norma, with impressive resonance and presence.
Director Kevin Newbury and Set Designer David Korins have a particular
approach to the opera. The set consists of four massive pillars with heads of
bulls on top of two of them. The forest of the Druids consists of bare trees
and the mistletoe that Norma cuts is white. The dominant colour is almost
entirely gray with flashes of red and blue at the back of the stage. The gates
that close off the back of the stage when we are not in the forest make the
place look like a large storage garage.
In the second act the head of a huge bull appears on the left side of
the stage. It looks like a Trojan Horse or perhaps a Trojan Bull. It has only
one horn that points menacingly downwards. I did not get the symbolism of the
bull whose base in the end served as the pyre on which Norma and Pollione meet
their fate. There was a cart with a raised platform as well and it served as a
sort of pulpit for Norma and Oroveso. I am not sure that it was necessary or if
it added anything to the production. Newbury seems to think that snowflakes are
a good idea but, again, I am not convinced that they did anything.
The orchestra and chorus under the baton of Stephen Lord did a great
deal with Bellini’s melodic and often lush music.
Radvanovsky gives a defining performance as Norma with superb singing
from the rest of the cast. You may forget some of the sets but you will not
soon forget Radvanovsky’s performance.
_________
Norma by Vincenzo Bellini with libretto by Felice
Romani opened on October 6 and will be performed eight times until November 5,
2016 at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, 145 Queen Street West, Toronto, Ontario. Tel: 416-363-6671. www.coc.ca
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