Bellini's "Norma" was staged at MAMT

Bellini's "Norma" was staged at MAMT



Vincenzo Bellini's opera Norma, the greatest example of the bel canto tradition, was staged at the Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Musical Theatre. This is a truly extraordinary event on the Russian stage - "Norma" was almost never staged in Russia, quite reasonably fearing not to cope with the high requirements for the technique of vocal mastery. First of all, this applies to the title party. In the opera world, they say so: if there is a Norma, there is a Norma, if there is no Norma, there will be no performance. In the theater of Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko, there is Norma: the magnificent Khibla Gerzmava. And therefore, with all the ambiguous features of the production of "Norma", it turned out.

Christian Knapp, the stage director of the opera, set very clear goals for himself, dictated by the score, and fulfilled them perfectly, no more and no less. In such material as the Bellini opera, where the orchestra is in absolute subordination to the singers, providing them with maximum freedom, convenience, support, it was very important to find and maintain the connection of the orchestra with the voices throughout the performance, to “make friends” with them, to force the musicians out of the pit enjoy the singing of those they accompany. This is not an easy task. And maestro Knapp solved it brilliantly. The orchestra under his direction was delicate, but very expressive. Bellini's orchestral texture is varied, the colors, for all their watercolor, are interesting, full of nuances - simple, but very sweet and audible to the musical ear. Nothing was lost, everything was noticed and conveyed to the listeners. It was obvious that the singers were doing well. That is why they gave all their best to the full extent of their vocal skills and dramatic possibilities. The authors of the opera have designated the genre as a "lyrical tragedy", which requires a serious reading. Lyrical tragedy is a kind of oxymoron. However, in music, such a synthesis of seemingly incompatible genres is fully embodied.

Everything is built around the prima donna: from the first sounds, Khibla Gerzmava takes into the aesthetic captivity those who came not to stare, but to listen. One can describe in detail how beautiful her timbre is, how impeccable her intonation is, how she manages to achieve a full, voluminous, flying sound on the piano. How convincing at the same time in her contradictory image - a mythological priestess and at the same time a lyrical romantic heroine - feminine, loving, sacrificial. Of course, the hall was waiting for the famous Casta Diva, and I think there was hardly a listener who would be disappointed by it.

Gerzmava's main partners - Sergey Kuzmin (Pollion) and Larisa Andreeva (Adaljiza) are excellent singers, charismatic artists, technically equipped, nevertheless found themselves in a difficult situation - sometimes there were losses in the dynamic balance of voices. In duet scenes with Gerzmava, Andreeva sometimes had overly forced sounds, Kuzmin sometimes lacked the brightness of the sound. However, this did not affect the overall picture, and on the whole the performance left the impression of a harmonious ensemble with the undisputed leader in the person of Khibla Gerzmava, as, in fact, it should be in this opera.

The world of music existed by itself as a kind of heavenly phenomenon, not subject to material machinations. Meanwhile, the material intrigues expressed by Maria Tregubova's scenography turned out to be rather aggressive. Before the audience (those who came to watch, not listen) unfolded a powerful visual installation. Five changes of scenery, which are somehow embarrassing to call scenery. These were independent impressive visual compositions combining rigid structures, mock-ups, video projections, dummies, mannequins depicting people, horses, trees, houses, mountains, celestial bodies, etc. Dioramas were replaced by panoramas - there were five changes in total, all of them defiantly took place before our eyes spectators. The video projection at the moment of the change crumbled, and the audience watched the frames flicker. All art objects are made in shades of gray. And only sometimes red invaded this total dullness as a herald of the future bonfire, on which Norma would sacrifice herself. From the very beginning, there was a suspicion that the color would appear, although the banality of such a technique left hope for the good taste of the directors. Hope turned out to be in vain: the final diorama with forest expanses was filled with bright colors, and a large-sized toy deer appeared in the foreground, which could well please the customers of the Detsky Mir store.

In fairness, it must be said that all these installations are actually invented and designed in a very intricate and interesting way. It has its own dramaturgy, even ideas. Another thing is that it is not entirely clear what this has to do with opera in general and Norma in particular. It would be more appropriate to present them as an art exhibition, accompanying the viewing with an atmospheric soundtrack.

Two worlds is too much for one performance. Director Adolf Shapiro had to become a kind of Charon, who had to somehow contrive and establish contact between these worlds - the heavenly world of music and the earthly world of design. Explicit manifestations of the director's ideas could not be found - except that giving the Gauls the appearance of military men, whose uniforms resemble TV news shots. The priests are presented in suits of special services officers of the 30s. Apparently, this also claims to be conceptual. However, since all these decisions are also visual, it is not a fact that they belong to the director. Who nevertheless managed to do the main thing - not to interfere with the singers to perform their most difficult parts.

Published in the newspaper "Moskovsky Komsomolets" No. 29039 dated May 30, 2023

Newspaper headline:
Two worlds - one Shapiro



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