On opening night of Vincenzo Bellini’s “Norma” at West Bay Opera, I found myself mesmerized by the music
The orchestra performed beautifully under the baton of José Luis Moscovich, as always at West Bay Opera, and the singers were excellent, despite the entire mid-Peninsula area being covered in a pall of smoke from the North Bay fires on Friday, Oct. 13.
The title role, among most opera fans, is considered the most difficult of the major operas, requiring all the tricky stuff of singing — trills, arpeggios, vocal leaps — and immense power in all registers.
The opening aria sung by Norma, “Casta Diva,” is a monster, and demands powerful acting and intensity, not to mention breath control. And the soprano in the role still faces another 75 minutes, of sometimes even more difficult challenges.
Christina Major was powerful as Norma. She managed all of Bellini’s fancy demands. Major stood there in a truly unfortunate costume and spouted an eruption of notes, from staccato chop-chop-chops to long, emotionally powerful phrases that knock us back in admiration.
And the orchestra was superb, delivering melodies ranging from mid-European martial music to lovely, romantic, even gentle phrases. Bellini throws in a lot of different musical influences.
All that variation makes for aural delight. Especially with this great group of singers surrounding Major. Benjamin Sloman offers a beautiful tenor as Pollione, the Roman proconsul whose wandering lust causes all the trouble. Veronica Jensen’s soprano is beautiful and emotionally delivered as devoutly sincere Adalgisa. Isaiah Musik-Ayala’s powerful bass-baritone grounds the show as Oroveso. Carmello Tringali as Flavio and Katia Hayati as Clotilde are the other excellent principals.
The chorus is powerful and beautiful, creating a tsunami of gorgeous sound that burst out over the audience at the Lucie Stern Theatre. An audience, by the way, that was only about two-thirds full. A disappointment for the usual full houses for West Bay Opera.
I very much liked set designer Jean-François Revon’s opening set for Act I, with its stark tree against a rising moon. Norma’s hut in Scene 2, however, only looked tawdry. And why not rake her bed a little bit, to raise the children into view for the audience as Norma threatens to kill them? And what was that projection in the background supposed to be?
Act II, Scene 2, Irminsul’s altar, was more interesting, and closer in style to the Act I, Scene 1 design.
Costume designer Abra Berman did what seems to be a period-accurate job dressing the Druids and the Romans, although the leather girdle on Major made her look like a walking barrel of wine. Previous Normas have worn a wide selection of gowns and robes, and those might have been preferable.
The story is of Druids in ancient Gaul, who want to go to war to kick out the occupying Roman army. “Norma” starts with a human sacrifice, to make the point, if we didn’t know, that the Druids were a violent, murderous bunch.
But the Druid leader, Oroveso, and his daughter Norma, the high priestess, say no, this is not the time for war.
Norma’s secret lover, and the father of her children, is Pollione, the Roman proconsul. When Norma finds out he wants to dump her and go to Rome with Adalgisa, all bets are off, and Norma spends a lot of time singing about who she might kill, including her children, because she doesn’t want them to go to Rome to become slaves.
Adalgisa, bless her heart, wants nothing more to do with Pollione once she discovers he’s been two-timing Norma.
Oh, the drama! Oh, the amazing music! Truly, it is a delight to listen to what the orchestra does. Very impressive.
Music
What: “Norma”
By: Vincenzo Bellini
Company: West Bay Opera
Conductor: Jose Luis Moscovich
Director: Igor Vieira
Featuring: Isaiah Musik-Ayala, Benjamin Sloman, Carmello Tringalli, Veronica Jensen, Christina Major, Katia Hayati
When: 8 p.m. Oct. 13 and Oct. 21; 2 p.m. Oct. 15 and 22, 2017
Where: Lucie Stern Theatre, 1305 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto
Tickets: $40-$85; http://www.WBOpera.org or 650-424-9999 (phone preferred)