Teatro Productions Oy brought to the stage of Sellosali in Espoo a relatively rare opera tidbit (for the Finnish audience), that is, three performances of Vicenzo Bellini’s “Norma”. “Norma” is probably the best known of Bellini’s operas and “Casta Diva” (especially by Maria Callas) on the other hand one of the best known bel canto arias.
The story of the opera is a triangle drama. Norma has had a long-time secret relationship with an officer of the occupying army, Pollione (they even have two kids together). Now his interest is fading and he has targeted young Adalgisa instead. Adalgisa is planning to join Pollione when he returns home. When Norma and Adalgisa find out that they have fallen for the same man, Adalgisa gives up and Norma plans to kill their children as a revenge. Of course, she is not able to do it in the end and true to operatic traditions, in the final scene Norma and Pollione notice that they still love each other. But since Norma has betrayed her people by falling in love with an occupier, they both end up going to the pyre.
The original story takes place during the Roman reign, but in this production by Ville Saukkonen we are somewhere in Central Asia in the 21st century. In the Italian libretto people still sang about Rome but the subtitles were neutral, without any mention of Rome. A little incoherence is normal when stories are updated to some other era and place, but the differences did not become disturbing in this version. The story carried if you did not think too much about the costumes of the ladies (hijabs) and Norma being a priestess.
The stage setting was simple. Boxes, that have become almost a trademark to Saukkonen, were this time big and they stood up. They were moved around and pictures were reflected on them. A good solution. Even costumes by Riia Lampinen were not too specific and this suited the idea of a bit obscure time and place.
I have earlier seen only shorter operas in Sellosali, so I was a bit worried before the opera, how “Norma” would fit to its relatively small stage. The orchestra was shrunk to one musician per instrument level, but taking into account that, it did really well. I sat in the front rows, which allowed me excellent view on the workings of the orchestra and its conductor Chloé Dufresne. Even the choir (Teatro Ensemble) was small, but in Norma the solo parts are more significant.
The demanding role of Norma was sung by Laura Leisma and in my opinion really well. Even though her voice is transparently clear, when needed, it has the strength to be heard over the orchestra. Especially her runs (and Bellini has plenty of them!) were spectacular and so beautifully controlled. And the best thing was that Leisma not only sung well, but she also expressed the feelings of Norma in her voice. It was a pleasure to listen to her Norma.
The other soloists were not bad either. Kaisa Näreranta as Adalgisa made a good performance, and you did not need to strain your ears to hear her sing either. Especially much I liked the detail that Leisma and Näreranta formed a credible couple as a more mature lady and a young innocent girl. Giuseppe Varano may not have been the most natural Pollione, a jerk who abandons his older mistress and turns his attention to a young girl. He was a bit starch in his performing, but his voice was strong and he had no difficulties even with the highest notes. So we had three very strong voices on a small stage.
All in all, I can only say that this “Norma” was a lot better than I had dared to hope for and it seemed that the audience had also found it. I hope this bodes well for the future and we will see several interesting operas from this company in the years to come.
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