Genre:
Opera
Release Date:
Nov 2017
Subtitles:
En, Fr, De, Jp, Ko
Sound Format:
LPCM 2.0, DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio
Catalog Number:
OABD7225D
Bellini: Norma (Royal Opera House)
Sonya Yoncheva (Norma); Sonia Ganassi (Adalgisa); Joseph Calleja (Pollione); Brindley Sherratt (Oroveso); David Junghoon Kim (Flavio); Vlada Borovko (Clotilde);
Star soprano Sonya Yoncheva sings the towering role of Bellini’s Norma – a priestess torn between love and duty – in a timeless tale of love and betrayal, set in a fanatically religious and wartorn modern society. The spectacular production by Àlex Ollé for The Royal Opera also stars Joseph Calleja as Norma’s former lover Pollione, leader of the forces occupying her country, Brindley Sherratt as her domineering father Oroveso, and Sonia Ganassi as Adalgisa, her greatest friend and unwitting rival in love. Royal Opera Music Director Antonio Pappano leads this superb cast, the Royal Opera Chorus and Orchestra of the Royal Opera House in one of the greatest works of the bel canto repertory.
Reviews
"A master of bel canto, Antonio Pappano conducts with superlative style and sensitivity." (Evening Standard ★★★★)
"Sonya Yoncheva could become one of the most commanding Normas of our time - Antonio Pappano conducts with a fine sense of the score’s brash brilliance as well as its sinuous lyricism, and both chorus and orchestra start the new season sounding invigorated.... Joseph Calleja was back in cracking form as Pollione, a viciously uningratiating role of which he never made heavy weather – I’ve seldom heard 'Meco all’altar di venere’ so confidently dispatched.... Yoncheva could blossom into one of the most commanding Normas of our time." (The Daily Telegraph)
"Sonya Yoncheva: impressively beautiful singing... In her early thirties, the Bulgarian soprano is younger than many singers of the role, which means that her voice is still fresh and lustrous. Where others sound strained, she pours out an unceasing flow of lambent tone, ample enough to lend stature to her Druid priestess, while just flexible enough to run around Bellini’s coloratura. Sung so beautifully, her Norma becomes the archetypal romantic heroine" (The Financial Times)