Bellini\u2019s bel canto masterpiece Norma<\/em> had its premiere at La Scala, Milan, on Boxing Day 1831. After a muted initial response the opera quickly became popular, and is now a mainstay of the repertory. Norma<\/em> is perhaps most acclaimed as a vehicle for the lead soprano, and indeed Bellini provides some astonishing vocal fireworks for his title character \u2013 most famously \u2018Casta diva\u2019, Norma\u2019s Act I hymn to the chaste moon, and Act II\u2019s \u2018Dormono entrambi\u2019, as she contemplates the unthinkable act of killing her children. But the opera\u2019s dramatic potency rests in its breathtaking ensembles, most strikingly in Norma\u2019s duets with Pollione and Adalgisa, the Act I trio \u2018Vanne, s\u00ec: mi lascia, indegno\u2019 and the blistering Act II finale.<\/p>\n This new production of Norma<\/em> is The Royal Opera\u2019s first in nearly thirty years. Directing is \u00c0lex Oll\u00e9, of the Catalan collective La Fura dels Baus, reunited with the creative team behind his acclaimed production of Oedipe<\/em>. They give Norma<\/em> a contemporary setting against a backdrop of a cruel civil war, and focus on the opera\u2019s exploration of the conflict between an individual\u2019s own desires and those of her society \u2013 and of religion as a force for unity and for destruction.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":8020,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","actor":[],"class_list":["post-8022","movie","type-movie","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"wpcf-titre-original":"","wpcf-realisation":"","acteurs":null,"pays":null,"distributeur":"","wpcf-date-de-sortie":"1477785600","wpcf-date-de-sortie-en-texte":"","wpcf-duree-du-film":"195","wpcf-flag-laissez-passer-refuse":false,"wpcf-flag-custom":"OPERA","photos":null,"nominations":null,"wpcf-bande-annonce-fr":"QkVUcILmgbA","wpcf-bande-annonce-en":"QkVUcILmgbA","critiques":null,"classification":[],"indication":[],"_custom_thumbnail":{"url":null,"top":null,"left":null},"document_pedagogique":null,"dossier_de_presse":null,"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n