(Credit: Monika Rittershaus)

Two new productions of “Norma” collided in a strange surfeit of Bellini in Vienna in February and March. What an interesting opportunity to get to grips with the Gauls twice in a row, a case of “Buy one ‘Norma’, get one free!”  First up was the Theater an der Wien, in a staging by Vasily Barkhatov and starring cult diva de nos jours, Asmik Grigorian.

“Fidelio”, “Die Fledermaus” and “Die lustige Witwe” were all premiered in the Theater, as were four Beethoven symphonies. It is surprisingly small and ornate, with just over 1,000 seats.  You don’t just feel as though you’re watching but almost as though you are in it (thankfully, I wasn’t). And it proves a strong contender in music-soaked Vienna, attracting major performers. The last ten years have seen Gruberová, Domingo and Carreras amongst the welter of stars. 

Solid But Confusing

Barkhatov’s production started a touch melodramatically before any music was heard, as we watched factory workers peaceably making statues, presumably of gods, a business run by Norma. Shouting outside alerts them and us to trouble, and soldiers erupted into the space, molested the staff, smashed the plaster casts, and took over. Cue the curtain and the Overture started, leaving a slightly nonplussed audience. When the curtain rose we were in the same factory, apparently ten years later, but now the invaders are running the show and the staff are reluctantly churning out the bust of a dictator ad nauseam. We could be in any post-War totalitarian state in Europe, take your pick. From then on the production is pretty traditional and works well, with Zinovy Margolin’s factory set transforming into a corridor outside the workers’ accommodation, and then in to Norma’s home for the more intimate scenes.  Perhaps I am being too literal but there are a few practical quibbles. How did Norma keep her two pregnancies secret, let alone the resultant children, when she was running a business? And though the factory workers secretly keep parts of a statue to piece together and worship, who or what is Norma to them in a religious sense? I assume someone in authority who has become a figurehead for the hope of freedom, but the idea is at odds with Romani’s libretto which imbues her with a mystical aura as she invokes the lunar goddess. And I never did work out who Oroveso is; not Norma’s father, seemingly another lead worker at odds with political authority and ultimately with Norma herself.

Francesco Lanzillotta conducted the Wiener Symphoniker with style. The Overture racked up the tension and the release into the string trills was well-judged. His was a large-boned reading of the score, full of drama. The orchestra and chorus were very good, the latter convincing in its contribution to the action. The version permitted traditional cuts, so only one verse of cabalettas but Lanzillotta still allowed his singers relatively free rein with positive results.

Solid Casting

And in Norma and Adalgisa he had great singers. When the cast was announced, Asmik Grigorian did not strike me as a natural for the part. Having made her name in roles such as Salome, Chrysothemis, and Rusalka she has moved on to challenges such as Lady Macbeth and Turandot and I feared she might ride roughshod over the more delicate Bellinian languors and curlicues. Her opening recitative was slightly anonymous and “Casta diva” didn’t quite have the ethereal tension for its long lines, but the cadenza was perfect and from then on Grigorian was on form. Her soprano has most of what the role requires – the coloratura, the length of phrasing, and essential for the final scene from “In mia man alfin tu sei” onwards, sublime vocal spin, and exquisite pianissimi. She judged Norma’s changing moods perfectly. Her top Cs as she launched herself at Pollione at the start of the Trio were galvanizing: even though I knew they were coming they made me flinch, and she hurled a solid top D at the act’s end. Her acting is unparalleled. Grigorian presented Norma as a fierce personality, quiet and assured but erupting with passion when pushed. And she is not afraid to remain still when she remains a magnetic presence. I was skeptical beforehand, and I was wrong.

Adalagisa can be a milksop, drooping around in the shadows. Aigul Akhmetshina balanced the woman’s natural reticence with her gumption: after all, Adalgisa has been keeping her own secret from the community. Her relationship with Norma was the crux of the drama and you felt that even by the end they were never going to see eye to eye, they just couldn’t get past each other’s revelations. Akhmetshina is at an interesting stage in her career. Having made her name as Carmen just about everywhere she needs to demonstrate her range of abilities, and Adalgisa proved a surprisingly good option. Her mezzo is plush, quite extraordinarily luscious, and beautifully knit throughout. Her top Cs in the Act one duet were as secure and thrilling as Grigorian’s. She, too, has the ability to remain still and she interacted naturally with her fellow factory workers, not stealing the limelight. This was a stunning performance.

Freddie De Tomasso proved a solid Pollione. He strutted with the best of them. His voice is large and quite a burly instrument and it reminded me that for years Pollione was the province of spinto tenors such as Vickers, del Monaco, and Corelli. Pollione is not the most interesting operatic character, he just has to stand around, look randy and guilty in turn, and once past his aria, despatched slightly bumpily here, join in with the more interesting female characters. The mysterious Oroveso, whoever he was here, was in the less safe hands of Tareq Nazmi, who cranked through the part.