Festival theatre/Queen’s corridor,Edinburgh
The fiery Italian mezzo owned the stage as Bellini’s vengeful priestess, while the Australian Chamber Orchestra went all out with MahlerThe first glimpse of Cecilia Bartoli’s Norma with her back to us, and hunched over a desk,scribbling absent, seems a quaint (charmingly old fashioned) tantaliser given the whole night is built to showcase La Bartoli and La Bartoli alone. Bellinis bel canto masterpiece has long been a playground for divas; powerhouse sopranos of the 20th century (Callas, or Caballe,Sutherland) made the title role various degrees of their own. Now it’s the turn of Bartoli – that supremely fiery and coquettish Italian mezzo who conceived this production for the Salzburg Whitsun festival of which she is artistic director – who unquestionably owns the stage from modest opening image to ecstatically intense final immolation. Related: Edinburgh festival planner: three shows to see today It was all a bit raucous and messy. I suspect I had more fun than I was supposed to at this NormaContinue reading...
Source: theguardian.com