Bellini: Norma

Norma, Norma, Norma! What can I say, Norma has been a long time favorite with its sweeping melodies and long, long bel canto lines. I fell in love with Norma the first time I heard Maria Callas sing Casta Diva. It was like being lifted into an epheral space and relinquishing to the gods of operas, thats when I knew Iwas hooked. However there has long been a Norma drought in the dvd deparmtment. The legendary preformance with Montserrat Caballe is avaliable however to be completly honest I am not a fan. There are also versions with Joan Sutherland (past her prime), Edita Guberova (not my taste), Fiorenza Cedolins (also from the Liceu but production looked bleak) and two or three obscure virsions that I quickly weeded out due to one thing or another. However we have long been lacking a Norma that can stand up to all the other great opera recordings that pop up today. One with nice HD picture quality and fantastic sound, a good production (not necessarily traditional but one that makes sense and does not offend) and a great cast which can do justice to both the amazing music and the heartwrenching drama that should be given (afterall opera should not just be music given in costume but a melding of music set to drama with a cast that can deliver both). So one fine fine day when I was buying the new Otello from the Met on amazon I glanced down to my reccomended bar and saw the cover with the great Miss Radvanovsky dressed to the nines in the Kevin Newbury production with which I was familiar with. All this peaked my intrest and so I clicked ordered after little deliberaiton on whether I thought this preformance would be satisfactory and waited till I could be entranced. I knew this preformance would satisfy the opera lover which I am however I was absoultly blown away by this absoulte stellar preformance. The production by Kevin Newbury is what you could call a stylized version of the Druids but still falls in the traditional boat with nothing to offend any tradionalist however it is still very accesible sometimes leaving Norma and Adalgisa alone in a dimly lit room during duets to focus in more on the internal drama. Big props are wheeled in and out by the druid chorus which in writing may sound very cumbersome and distacting but i can assure you that when it is happening its hard to notice. The costumes by Jessica Jahn are simply ravishing with Sondra Radvanovsky in some stunning pieces worthy of a high pristess that set her aside from the simple druidesses which are in blue dresses. The romans are decked out in black leather with a red accents and the male druidesses with furs and brown leather. The singing Is just as spectacular with the radiant Sondra Radvanovsky in the title role a role which she has sung on all the worlds great stages and who will be filling in for the troublesome Miss Netrebko for the opening of the Met's 2017-2018 season which will be a treat. Mrs. Radvanovsky has been doing this peticular production in San Francisco, Toronto and in this preformance Barcelona. She gives beautiful floating high notes and pianissimi and navigates her way through the parts difficult coloratura and tessitura her Casta Diva simplyntakes your breath away. She is more than capable in the roles vocal demands aand just as equipt in the roles dramtic demands as she portays Norma the leader which is living a lie, Norma the lover, Norma the daughter and Norma the mother which starkly differentiates the public and private side of her charahcter which is one of the most fully fleshed out in all of opera. As our Pollione we have Gregory Kunde a name which I had only heard mentioned but he gives an adequate preformance. He does not have the vocal beauty that one truley wants in this role but he does not damper the preformance anf is a solid actor. Ekaterina Gubanova Is a vocally and dramaticaly solid Adalgisa with a big dramatic voice which I dont mind but if one is more suited towards a lyric Adagisa perhaps you can wait for Joyce Di Donato at the met next year. The supporting cast of Raymond Aceto and Anna Puche very generously support our main cast. Lastly Renato Palumbo Supports his cast well while turning out Bellini's most sumptuous music giving us a very standard interpretation of Norma. All three hours of drama are given on two discs of high definition picture with 5.1 surround sound and an opera expirience for the ages. I am very much looking forward to the Norma From Covent Garden which has been confirmed that it will be released on dvd next fall with my current favorite soprano Sonya Yoncheva In the title role. I hope I have convinced you to give this Norma a go and please comment if you have questions or if you would like to just keep the conversation going :)!

I've bought a lot of NORMA DVDs, and they all pale before this! Norma is a difficult soprano role, so typically the headliners don't tackle this score until they are, uhhh, past prime. This NORMA is simply lush. (The only better Norma I've seen is Lindsey Ohse, here in the U.S.)

I have waited for this Norma DVD, and I am not disappointed. It's not necessary to compare Sondra Radvanovsky with Callas and Sutherland. She makes this role her own. The world of opera owes a great debt to the giants of the 20th century, who paved the way for the bel canto renewal that we now enjoy. Sondra Radvanovsky is a giant of the 21st century, and this performance from Barcelona is proof positive. The entire cast and production are worth treasuring.

This DVD proves again that Sondra Radvanovsky is the best and perhaps most versatile soprano in the world.

Excellent!

Sondra is great!

The two reviews already here have nothing to do with Bellini's opera!

Jamais depuis Callas et Caballet (à Orange, soirée mémorable) on n'avait chanté comme cela Norma! Si Sondra Radvanovski n'a pas la noirceur de Callas dans In mia man, elle présente une femme blessée, déjà vaincue - comme savait le faire aussi la grande Johan Sutherland. De bout en bout le chant est ample, raffiné, avec des pianissimi qui évoque par leur beauté Monserrat Caballé. Son Casta diva reste dans la mémoire et son duo avec Adalgisa reste un moment de choix, tant l'harmonie des voix est parfaite. Mais le meilleur est dans le final In cor tradisti et dans sa longue imploration. Difficile de faire mieux! Voilà une Norma de rêve pour ne pas dire de légende. A écouter en toute urgence.

La recensione rischia di coinvolgere il venditore che può risultare incolpevole. Viceversa il DVD costituisce una grande delusione perché la qualità della registrazione, dal vivo, è pessima. Bisogna ascoltare la registrazione a volume contenuto per non sentire le distorsioni del suono e ci sono spesso brevi interruzioni.

Das hätte man sich sparen sollen, ja müssen. Nach dem ersten Teil sind die Erwartungen hoch. Die Fortsetzung, so man sie überhaupt so nennen kann, hat rein garnichts mit dem ersten Teil, oder mit dem Hauptdarsteller (gleicher Schauspieler, ist dann aber auch alles) zu tun. Es ist außerdem ein grottenschlechter Film. Diese Einschätzung hat evtl. auch mit nicht erfüllten Erwartungen zu tun. Mein Film war das nicht.

Ist nicht die Fortsetzung von ersten Teil, Das ist ein wenig schade. Man vermisst etliches von ersten Teil an Spannung, Action, Handlung, aber dies ist reine Geschmackssache.Ich persönlich würde dem Film eine 4 als Note geben.Die Lieferung war schnell und tadellos , auch sonst hat alles gepasst und immer gerne wieder !DJ

statt der Oper auf Blue Ray habe ich einen Spielfilm auf DVD erhalten. Hätte ich diesen haben wollen, hätte ich ihn bestellt. Bei der Kontrolle meiner eigenen Bestellunterlagen musste ich feststellen, dass dies offensichtlich nicht das erste Mal geschehen ist. Versucht mal sich hier vielleicht seiner Ladenhüter zu entledigen.