In the recent film The Iron Lady, Margaret Thatcher leaves Number 10 for the last time to the sound of “Casta Diva” from Bellini’s Norma. The filmmakers obviously saw parallels between Norma, a ...

A while ago, the radio station that gives me breathing space on a Saturday morning decided to give itself a bit of publicity. So it ran a TV commercial pushing the sense of calm and well-being ...

The operas of Vincenzo Bellini, with the sweet melancholy of his long, long melodies and the elaborate refinement of his technique, had an effect that went well beyond the genre: he had a huge pull on ...

Purchase this and other timeless New Criterion essays in our hard-copy reprint series. In the pit on Tuesday night was Maurizio Benini, the veteran Italian. The overture was sturdy and energetic.

Norma is an opera in two acts by Vincenzo Bellini with libretto by Felice Romani. It was first produced at La Scala in Milan on December 26, 1831. The opera is regarded as a leading example of the bel ...

KATONAH, N.Y. In the finals of the 2007 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, the young American soprano Angela Meade knocked out an audience at the Met with a magisterial and vocally ...

Battlelines are being drawn in Vienna as two new productions of Bellini’s Norma are unveiled at its two main opera companies within the space of just seven days. Next weekend, Cyril Teste directs at ...

Vincenzo Bellini’s “Norma” is a tale of self-interest versus altruism, an opera built around the concept of social upheaval and personal struggle. In its stunning new production of “Norma,” ...

If you live in occupied territory, your choices are limited: collaborate or resist. Norma, the title character in Vincenzo Bellini’s opera of the same name, does both – with disastrous results. At 11 ...

Bellini’s Norma, the greatest tragic Italian opera before Verdi's, is conducted by Antonio Pappano in a performance from the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. Starring Sonya Yoncheva in the title role ...