The city of Toulouse was at the heart of Caesar’s Gallic Wars in 57 BCE, which makes its Théâtre du Capitole a highly appropriate place to see Bellini’s Norma. Conscious of the connection, director Anne Delbée places us straight away in the realms of Gaulish myth. The curtain rises after the overture to show us an arresting tableau of Norma in priestly cloak in front of the Great White Stag of druidic legend, incarnated by actor Emmanuel Barrouyer, resplendent in stag’s antlers, mask and swathes of white chiffon, in front of a deep blue background. Trees are shown in black line graphics on drapes at each side of the stage. It’s all very atmospheric.
By then, José Miguel Pérez-Sierra (a late replacement for Hervé Niquet) and the Orchestre du Capitole de Toulouse had already proved their mettle. Their account of the overture was filled with the qualities that they continued to display throughout the evening: consistent forward propulsion; brilliance of timbre and lightness of touch; and an extraordinary blend of brass, woodwinds and strings for the heavier moments. With the sound further blended by a deep orchestra pit, it was like listening to a single composite instrument.
There followed that intoxicating series of three entrance arias. As Oroveso, Roberto Scandiuzzi pumped out enormous power in “Ite sul colle”, his rallying call to the Gauls. If the odd high note was on the taut side, that was a small price to pay for the huge roundedness in his middle and lower register. Later on, in Act 2, he provided an extraordinary sustained low pedal note which grounded the entire action.
Luciano Ganci was the cad and seducer Roman proconsul, Pollione, entering with “Meco all'altar di Venere” and its cabaletta “Me protegge, me difende”. It’s ten years since I saw Ganci in Budapest and thought he would be the next big thing. My view hasn’t changed. There’s a warmth to his timbre and a generous ease to his phrasing that is the equal of any bel canto tenor I know. Apart from a couple of overaggressive pianissimi, which saw him vanish below the orchestra for a moment, it was a faultless performance.
The big story in these parts, however, was Karine Deshayes taking on the role of Norma. Deshayes generally sings mezzo (she was a fine Adalgisa here in this production’s first outing in 2019), but she has the range to do soprano roles (in interview, she describes her voice as “Soprano 2”). On the evidence of last night, the role of Norma is within her grasp, but is still a work in progress. She produced the required dramatic forcefulness in the recitative “Sediziose voci” and was fully in command of her phrasing for the stand-out “Casta diva”, but she failed to reconcile the paradoxical needs of pure bel canto beauty and intense dramatic accenting, producing them in turn but seldom uniting the two. No such complaints about Chiara Amarù as Adalgisa, with the duets between her and Deshayes being some of the highlights of the evening.
Delbée’s staging is something of an odd beast. Generally, it’s attractive to look at and matches the story reasonably well. While the drapes were down at the side, the stage looked rather lovely. When the drapes were removed in Act 2, however, the bare metal sloping sides and ramp reminded me of being in a car ferry. The image of the Great White Stag was powerful, but I’m not sure how much was really added by the Delphic lines of poetry recited by Barrouyer other than to lend a general air of mystery. Video projections of the lovers’ desires or of Norma’s children in Little Lord Fauntleroy gear seemed simplistic, as did the stage movement. Delbée’s focus on projecting myth came at the expense of any great effort to achieve on-stage chemistry between the principals.
But overall, Delbée allows the drama to shine through the music, and with Pérez-Sierra and the orchestra continuing on top form until the close, this was an excellent overall performance. The Opéra National du Capitole have added a ninth date to the run and they will be deservedly confident of filling the house.
