| Descrizione | Vincenzo Bellini - Norma (2007) [DVD9 NTSC] (2DVD)
VINCENZO BELLINI
Norma
Edita Gruberova ? Sonia Ganassi
Zoran Todorovich ? Roberto Scandiuzzi
Markus Herzog
Der Chor der Bayerischen Staatsoper
Das Bayerische Staatsorchester
Friedrich Haider
Staged by J¸rgen Rose ? Directed by Brian Large
Int. Release 02 Jan. 2007
2 DVD-Videos
2 DVD-VIDEO NTSC 0440 073 4219 0 GH 2
STEREO: PCM / SURROUND: DTS 5.0
Picture Format: 16:9 ? Filmed in High Definition
Subtitles: Italian/English/German/French/Spanish/Chinese
A HDTV-Coproduction of Unitel/Bayerischer Rundfunk/Classica
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This new production of Belliniís Norma by J¸rgen Rose (sets, costumes, stage direction, and lighting) to honor Edita Gruberovaís 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, itís 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; Normaís 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. The bouquet of laurel she carries is the only touch of greenery. An occasional dead branch is strewn across the stage. Watchmen patrol Normaís home from above.
In the final act, when Norma calls the Druids to war, they don ski masks and pick up AK-47s, which is not only jarring, but old-hat. All that is missing for this to be a postmodernist textbook production is overturned chairs and the occasional toilet bowl, although a skewed perspectiveñi.e., an oddly shaped roomñmight have completed the clichÈs.
I wish any of it had brought us closer to these characters and their predicaments, but it doesnít. The stage direction is pretty straightforward, but also doesnít help. An interesting touch is to have Pollione pull the dagger out of Normaís hand at the end of the ìIn mia manî duet in order to stop her from killing herselfñbut thatís about all thatís sensibly different. At the operaís close there is a tiny fire, stage center, but Norma merely walks off stage while Pollione grieves.
Roberto Scandiuzziís Oroveso is younger-looking than usual and conductor Friedrich Haider takes his arias quickly, which also detracts from the characterís nobility. Scandiuzzi sounds wobbly and lacks majesty. The Pollione, Zoran Todorovich, has a big steely voice that probably can be heard across the Channel, but he mistakes sheer volume for passion and rarely modulates his tone. The feeling we get is of a fine voice with no real thought behind it, and thatís not a good feeling. Sonia Ganassiís Adalgisa offers the DVDís best singing. Both duets with Norma are sung in their original, higher keys (as is ìCasta divaî) and Ganassi has precious little trouble with any of it. Of all the singers, she shades her music best.
But of course, all ears are on Norma. Gruberova is 60 years old now, and close-ups are not a good idea. It isnít merely that she looks a bit like the witch in Hansel und Gretel; she also looks decades older than her father, lover, and confidante, as if coming from another world. She is wonderfully into the roleís ethos, however, and nary a word or note goes by thoughtlessly. Every mood change of Normaís, every tender or angry turn, is clear. But all is not well vocally.
She still has all the notes, but her ìCasta divaî seems uncomfortable. At its best, this aria can have the effect of being sung in a trance; here we can sense the effort, with passages of uncertain pitch and phrases that are awkwardly placed. Throughout the performance there are spectacular effectsñsplendid moments of messa di voce, high, pianissimo singing, absolute certainty of pitchñbut they are all too often interrupted by some shakiness. It is portrayal more to admire than to love; neither it nor the surroundings offer much warmth. Friedrich Haiderís leadership, except in the rushed Oroveso scenes, is spacious and well thought-through, and the Munich forces play and sing superbly.
The show is well directed for small screen (by the estimable Brian Large) and features an 11-minute ìMaking ofî documentary that is neither informative nor necessary. A helpful track-by-track synopsis is included in the booklet and subtitles are in major European languages and Chinese. The picture and sound are all you could want.
All of the available DVDs of Norma are missing something: June Andersonís is too cool (although Daniela Barcellona is wonderful as Adalgisa), and the make-up is so grotesque that it distances the viewer from the viewed. Dimitra Theodossiou offers a well sung if not very deep readingñbut sheís made up to look like a punk rocker, the supporting cast is pretty weak, and the music is out of sync with the singersí mouths. Joan Sutherlandís 1978 DVD on Kultur is in poor sound, and as usual the great soprano is slightly too bland; but itís a good second choice (see below). Her 1981 undertaking with the glorious Tatiana Troyanos as Adalgisa (from the Canadian Opera Company) is caught way past her prime (the ìCasta divaî is almost sad) and the production values and sound are mediocre at best. The picture on the VAI release with Montserrat CaballÈ, Josephine Veasey, and Jon Vickers from the Orange Festival is dark and unclear, but the singing is ravishing; CaballÈ has said that it was her greatest Norma, and itís difficult to dispute. Vickers and Veasey also are unbeatable. Fight through the murky picture and youíll have a real treat.
PLEASE GIVE AT LEAST WHAT YOU HAVE TAKEN
STAY IN SEED PLEASE
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