A Sicilian staple, Pasta alla Norma is a culinary homage to an operatic marvels, with every bite as delightful as a crisp coloratura passage. Having enjoyed a few delicious Normas myself, reviewing Bellini's opera comes with expectations – will it taste as good in the theatre? The Staatsoper Unter den Linden’s new production of Bellini’s opera, directed by Vasily Barkhatov and conducted by Francesco Lanzillotta, left something to be desired, but Rachel Willis-Sørensen’s Norma and Elmina Hasan’s Adalgisa proved to be the cherry (tomato) on top.
Set in an undetermined country amid violent political upheaval, Barkhatov’s Norma conflates several 20th-century totalitarian regimes into one, chronicled through the occupation of a small ceramics factory where Norma, Oroveso and their colleagues work. A military coup is shown during the overture, where soldiers destroy the statues in the facility and replace them with the dictator’s portrait (regrettably generated through AI). Throughout the opera, the factory and Norma’s room in the nearby workers’ quarters alternate as backdrop for the action, connected by a dismal corridor where every word is hushed and every confession dangerous. While convincingly stifling, this thwarted Norma’s lyrical side, originally embodied by her devotion to (and identification with) nature, and replaced it with nothing, her momentous cavatina marked only by a dimming of the lights.
Barkhatov’s staging was more successful in its depiction of private tensions, particularly between Norma, Pollione and Adalgisa. The entire second scene of the first act benefited from the bare, if not shabby, decor of Norma’s room, veering from tragic to tragicomic in the closing trio. Stripped of its ancient, mythological coating, the confrontation felt like a bickering love triangle that could have fitted right into a Sophia Loren comedy. Just as disenchanted was the final duet, “In mia man alfin tu sei”, where Norma and Pollione sit alone on stage, sharing a cigarette and looking miserable.
For almost two centuries now the altar of Bellini’s famously long melodies has received offerings from various conductors (pardon the druidic metaphor). For his part, Lanzillotta seemed to favour slower tempi, in order to let the score’s lyrical stream flow unrushed. His interpretation paired evocative sections with moments of stagnation, where some variety and more vivid phrasing could have helped lift up Bellini’s accompaniment. Erring on the side of clarity and simplicity is a good choice when it comes to bel canto repertoire, but Lanzillotta occasionally bordered on pure rhythmic articulation. Matched with Barkhatov’s staging, this resulted in a somewhat dry Norma.
Quite some fuel, however, was provided by the two female leads. Willis-Sørensen’s Norma is aware not only of her precarious position as a mother and ‘traitor’, but also of her role and political obligation towards her community. The soprano communicated the inner conflict not by withdrawing in melancholy, but by pacing around the stage and claiming it as her own space, whereas the others – even Pollione – could only follow and adapt. A robust middle and low register and the necessary ease in coloratura cemented Willis-Sørensen’s portrayal of a scared but resolute Norma.
A sense of theatre and solid singing were also to be found in Hasan’s performance as Adalgisa, and it is no coincidence that the highlights of the evening were scenes where the two women faced each other. In recitatives, as much as in arias, Hasan’s voice complemented Willis-Sørensen’s, and vice versa. Hasan’s mezzo sounded not only full and steady across registers, but also malleable to the situation, her subtle phrasing peppering the first-act duet with Pollione.