Norma

Bellini - Norma (2007) [2DVD Set] {Deutsche Grammophon} [by Edita Gruberova, Friedrich Haider]
2xDVD -> 10.7 Gb | All Regions | NTSC 16:9 | Italiano (LinearPCM, 2 ch / DTS, 5 ch) | ~ 166m | ISO Images
Subs: Italiano, Deutsch, English, Francais, Espanol, Chinese
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (png) -> 116 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2007 Deutsche Grammophon / Universal | 00440 073 4219
Classical / Opera

This new production of Bellini’s Norma by Jürgen Rose (sets, costumes, stage direction, and lighting) to honor Edita Gruberova’s first staged assumption of the title role was taped in January and February of 2006 in Munich. It does neither the opera nor the soprano any favors. In most ways, it’s a pretty gloomy affair.The sets are minimal angular wood constructions comprised of a step or two here and there and a not-very-high platform or two that the players can climb up and down. Everything is dark. The costumes are modern but only can be defined as such because they evoke no particular era; Norma’s rich blue outfit for the first scene, complete with scarf/hood that effectively covers everything but her apple-shaped face and hands, allows for little expressivity.

With two official EMI versions and five complete live recordings, Norma is at the top of the Callas hit parade, but choosing a single version is a nightmare as each has its virtues, based on the state of the soprano's voice or the surrounding cast. My first choice lies with the first 1954 studio recording where the balance between vocal health and emotive quality is as good as one can get for this artist.
This was Maria Callas' first studio-recorded Norma, and it remains a formidable performance. If it doesn't quite have the emotional shadings of her 1960 EMI re-make, it is certainly vocally more secure and in its way just as authoritative. The grandeur of the voice itself is always in evidence; her seeming spontaneity to dramatic situations makes the drama real. Mario Filippeschi's Pollione is impressive–he was a finer tenor than he's given credit for–and Ebe Stignani's Adalgisa is warm and blends superbly with Callas in the duets. Nicola Rossi-Lemeni's Oroveso is a mass of wobbles. Tullio Serafin leads masterfully but observes all the cuts that were standard for the '50s. Most people prefer the 1960 performance, with its clearer delineation between Norma-the-warrior and Norma-the-woman (and for Corelli and Ludwig in the two supporting roles, not to mention the stereo sound), but by 1960 Callas' vocal problems were pretty overt, so you'll have to take the good with the bad. My preference is for the 1955 recording (on Opera d'Oro) with del Monaco under Serafin; its minute-by-minute potency and glorious singing are unmatchable.
Robert Levine

Performed on early 19th century instruments and presented with brisk tempos, bright tone colors, and a lean ensemble sound, this 2013 Decca recording of Vincenzo Bellini's tragic opera Norma strives to re-create the authentic vocal style and instrumental sonorities that would have been heard at its premiere. This reading is based on a critical study of the manuscript and other sources by Maurizio Biondi and Riccardo Minasi. To the extent that Cecilia Bartoli is able to re-create the historical role of Norma and remove the modern associations that came with time (especially from the 20th century performances by Maria Callas, Joan Sutherland, and Montserrat Caballé), she impresses with a lighter voiced and agile heroine who is wholly believable in this highly florid bel canto role.

A grande dame of British jazz, Norma Winstone may be approaching her 70th birthday but the east London-born vocalist shows no signs of fading into well-earned retirement just yet. Indeed, the former Azimuth figurehead and veteran collaborator with everyone from pianists John Taylor and Mike Westbrook to Ian Carr and Kenny Wheeler, has made some of the best received albums of her lengthy career during the last decade; not least 2008’s Distances, which garnered a Grammy nomination and a clutch of European jazz awards.