Review Norma live on the Playhouse screen

The 12th season of Met HD Live began at Perth Playhouse with Bellini’s Norma with a star studded cast.

Under conductor Carlo Rizzi the work began explosively and romantically in an excellent performance of the overture, full of italianità – verve with tunes.

The task of the tenor Pollione is until his final moments thankless as he appears a feckless and cruel seducer.

However, Joseph Caleja had the right tone to impress vocally.

Although Sondra Radvanovsky as Norma had the ability to sustain it, the tempo chosen for her most famous aria Casta Diva was so slow as to almost deprive this piece of beauty and, almost, melody.

It awaited the entrance of Joyce DiDonato as Norma’s acolyte Adalgisa to lift the performance.

Here, in their first act duet and even more so in the fireworks of Mira, o Norma in the second their partnership was a musical joy.

The trio in which Joseph Caleja joined the two women provided a superbly sung exciting finish to the first act.

In operas where the soloist is almost all the Met chorus were in excellent voice and made a sonically good impression.

Matthew Rose also impressed as Druid chief and Norma’s father, in his pieces throughout the opera but especially when he accepted his traitorous daughter’s children.

Much was made of the stage lifts where the forest is raised to reveal Norma’s hut in the roots of the oak, but the design here made it appear a little cartoonish.

Colours were drab throughout, the working in of Celtic design a plus. Having arranged a Götterdämmerung-like immolation it was a pity to bring down the curtain before Norma and Pollione were engulfed in it.

Next comes a favourite Mozart opera Die Zauberflöte - The Magic Flute - in a colourful, enjoyable production at the Met’s usual time of 5.55pm on Saturday, October 14.