Today in Music (1831): Vincenzo Bellini’s Norma first performed

Norma Vincenzo Bellini (composer)

Composed: 1831 First Performed: December 26, 1831 Peak: -- Sales (in millions): -- Genre: classical > opera

Act I: Sinfonia "Svanir le voci!", recitative (Polio, Flavius) "Meco all'altar di Venere", cavatina (Pollio) "Me protegge me difende" (Pollio) "Norma viene", chorus "Sediziose voci", scene (Norma, Oroveso) "Casta diva", cavatina (chorus) "Fine al rito" (Norma) "Ah! bello a me ritorna" (Norma) "Sgombra e la sacra selva", scene (Adalgisa) "Eccola! Va, mi lascia", recitative (Pollio) "Va, crudele", duet (Adalgisa, Pollio) "Vanne, e li cela entrambi", recitative (Pollio) "Oh, Rimembranza!" (Norma) "Sola, furtiva al tempio" "Tremi tu? E per chi?... Oh, non tremare" "Oh! di qual sei tu vittima", trio (Norma, Adalgisa, Pollio) "Perfido!... Or basti" Act II: "Dormono entrambi", introduction & scene "Me chiami, o Norma?", recitative "Mira, o Norma" "Cedi! Deh, cedi!" "Si, fino all'ore estreme" "Non parti!", Chorus "Guerrieri", recitative "Ah! del Tebro", aria with chorus "Ei tornera si", recitative "Guerra, guerra!", chorus "In mia man" duet "Ah! Crudele" "All'ira vostra" "Qual cor tradisti", Duet "Deh! Non volerli vittime" Average Duration: 149:10

Rating: 4.116 out of 5.00 (average of 4 ratings) Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Album: Norma was the eighth opera for Romantic-era Italian composer Vincenzo Bellini “and the one that completely secured his fame and fortune as a composer.” JH The two-act tragedy premiered on December 26, 1831 at the opera house La Scala in Milan. It was conducted by the Italian conductor Alessandro Rolla. YP The “grand and exotic tale” JH is considered one of Bellini’s best operas and his personal favorite. According to musicographer David Ewen, Bellini said, “If I were shipwrecked at sea, I would leave all the rest of my operas and try to save Norma.” YP The dramatic tragedy builds on previous literary works including the Greek myth of Medea, who fell in love with Jason of the Argonauts, and Les Martyrs, a 24-book novel by François René de Chateaubriand, in which a Druid priestess entices a Roman proconsul. YP There are also similarities to the 1820 opera La sacerdotessa d’Irminsul by Giovanni Pacini. JH This was written during political upheaval in Europe. The story, set in 50 B.C. Gaul, focuses on the conflict “between the native Druids of Britain and the Roman soldiers who are occupying the country.” JH Act 1 establishes a love triangle in which Norma is the Druid priestess who secretly has two sons with Pollione, the Roman proconsul. However, he has tired of Norma and is now interested in Adalgisa, a younger, virgin priestess. When Norma finds out, she wants revenge. She decides to “rile her people to rebel against the Romans.” YP By the end, she has a change of heart and offers herself as a sacrifice and Pollione joins her. “The music of Norma is laden with all of the conventions of Italian opera in the first half of the nineteenth century, including solo vocal arias and duets.” JH It “features Bellini’s signature long melodies” LA and “is defined by a highly expressive style of singing.” LA It features Casta Diva, which is considered “one of the all-time great soprano arias,” LA providing a defining role for operatic sopranos such as Maria Callas. LA

Resources and Related Links: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Vincenzo Bellini LA LiveAbout.com (8/11/2018). “Norma Synopsis: The Story of Bellini’s Opera” by Aaron Green JH All Music Guide review by Jennifer Hambrick YP Yusypovych.com “Vincenzo Bellini and Italian Opera – Norma” First posted 2/14/2011; last updated 12/24/2023.