VIENNA — As cities across Europe face budget cuts, two new productions of Bellini’s Norma were presented more or less simultaneously at the State Opera and the Theater an der Wien. Both stagings boast first-rate casts. Both also present the topic of war between the Druids and the Romans in explicit if sometimes convoluted terms. Ultimately, the State Opera makes a stronger case, thanks to a sleek aesthetic and stylistic authenticity.
The casting of the title role — originally written for the soprano Giuditta Pasta, who was considered perhaps the leading soprano of her time — is of course a decisive factor. Norma’s arias demand endless breath support, consummate dynamic control, and the ability to convey the inner torment of having given birth to the children of her enemy and lover, the Roman proconsul Pollione. While star soprano Asmik Grigorian rightfully brought down the house at the Theater an der Wien premiere Feb. 16, Federica Lombardi delivered a more restrained performance, seen March 3, that breathed life into the text without chewing the scenery.
In the first-act aria “Casta Diva,” the opera’s most famous number (thanks to the legendary interpretation of Maria Callas), Grigorian’s smooth but slightly metallic tone was gripping. Her voice also moves swiftly through coloratura passages. High notes were occasionally shrill, however. This was most apparent in the stand-off with Pollione and his other lover, Adalgisa, at the end of the act, as her acting bordered on hysterical (whether of her own volition or as per the instructions of stage director Vasily Barkhatov).
Lombardi, meanwhile, was just as impressive technically in “Casta Diva.” More importantly, not a single portamento was out of place, and every word was crystal clear. Her steadfast presence may be underwhelming for some viewers in an age when the theatrical aspect of opera is sometimes elevated above pure musical expression, but she also added just the right dose of despair to numbers such as the second-act soliloquy “Dormono entrambi/Non vedran la mano.”
Freddie De Tommaso appeared as Pollione in both productions, stepping in last-minute for Juan Diego Flórez on March 3 when Flórez withdrew from the State Opera production for health reasons. The young tenor brought a robust tone (maybe even too stentorian for his age, particularly in the smaller space of the Theater an der Wien) and excellent musicianship to both performances. His chemistry with the Adalgisa of star mezzo-soprano Aigul Akhmetshina in Barkhatov’s production provided an interesting edge, and in trio passages including Grigorian the voices were beautifully blended.
While the Vienna Symphony under Francesco Lanzillotta at the Theater an der Wien sensitively accompanied the singers, the orchestral performance consistently lacked pathos, rather taking recourse to a forced tone. Michele Mariotti, on the other hand, kept the musicians of the State Opera under tight reins while capturing the turbulent emotion of the score. This was one of the best orchestral performances of bel canto I’ve ever heard in the German-speaking world.
The State Opera staging by Cyril Teste takes a cinematic approach that includes live close-ups and dreamy scrims such as the forest that descends for “Casta Diva.” In the final scene, Norma holds up a rifle rather than jumping onto a funeral pyre. Barkhatov’s version (originally planned for 2020 but delayed because of the pandemic) also spares Norma and her children death, even having Pollione put his arm around them in an unexpectedly welcome twist to what is a searingly tragic plot. Sets by Zinovy Margolin at the Theater an der Wien are otherwise underwhelming, mostly taking place in a factory where the Druids fashion Stalin-like busts.
Neither the chorus of the State Opera nor that of the Schoenberg Choir master the Italian language enough to make ensemble numbers soar, but this may be a negligible detail. While both productions are very strong, it ultimately feels superfluous to have them back-to-back. The occasion even begs the question as to whether it makes sense to cast the Theater an der Wien as a “third opera house” when the State Opera has all the resources to put on a grand spectacle and assemble a cast worthy of Bellini’s score.
Would it not be better for the Theater an der Wien to place an emphasis on repertoire the State Opera is not covering — for example, operetta and Baroque works that are well suited to the intimate, ornate theater? At a time when not only are budget cuts stuck in limbo but war and plunder also are taking place in real time not so far away, it might be worth at least considering the question.
