A case for a new Norma

Cecilia Bartoli and John Osborn in Norma - Photo: Hans Jörg Michel

Baritone Ricardo Panela looks at how the 1950s Bel Canto revival has influenced the way we listen to Bellini's Norma

The year of 2016 was a terrific year for Bellini lovers: the United Kingdom offered three productions of what is considered to be the pinnacle of Bel Canto opera: Norma. We had English National Opera’s production earlier in the year [see the review on this blog], followed by Cecilia Bartoli’s historically informed approach to the role for the Edinburgh International Festival, and ended with the Royal Opera House’s much anticipated new production starring Sonya Yoncheva [see the review on this blog]. I was lucky enough to attend two of these productions (ENO and ROH) and, inevitably, read the reviews of Cecilia Bartoli’s performance at the Edinburgh Festival.

This variety in offering of such an iconic opera leads to much comparison: this is, after all, a role which served as a vehicle for some of the most remarkable leading ladies of the XXth Century - Maria Callas, Montserrat Caballé and Joan Sutherland. From a singer’s perspective, I find the variety of ways in which one can tackle such an enormous role, absolutely fascinating: a woman who’s simultaneously a strong willed leader, a wronged lover and the torn mother of two children whose father she grows to loathe throughout the course of the plot. The emotional range required for this role is huge and that’s where much of its allure lies: the possibilities are endless.

However, what prompted me to write this article wasn’t so much to come up with a guide of ‘How To Sing Norma’, but to reflect about how this opera is perceived by the greater public and how biased we are (or aren’t) when someone tries to do something new with it. Cecilia Bartoli’s Norma is obviously very controversial and everyone has an opinion about whether or not it’s an adequate casting choice. However, focusing on that is missing the bigger picture of what is being attempted here.