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Norma as a story is pretty ridiculous.  It is a bel canto soap opera and that’s being kind.  When the first smidgeon of exposition contains the line (translated from the sung Italian) “she is your secret lover and mother of your sons” it is safe to say a subtle, nuanced plot is not the primary concern for this opera.  Instead, Norma exists as a vehicle for its singers and what a spectacular vehicle it is.  Brenda Harris, in the title role, treated the 1100-member audience on Saturday’s opening night to a master class of vocal elegance and beauty.

Costumed in black for the majority of the opera, Harris portrayed Norma as an older woman and downplayed the worst postpartum depression this side of Medea. The scene of her brandishing a dagger above her sleeping sons still caused some audience members to gasp and shift uncomfortably in their seats.  As a “singer’s opera,” Harris sang a lovely “Casta Diva” especially with the cleanly articulated descending scale at the end of the aria, but it was her later first and second act arias (including a chilling “Teneri, teneri figli”) that more readily displayed her talents.

The other powerful female presence on stage was Laura Vlasak Nolen as the unfortunately named Adalgisa.  Nolen’s voice was at times too powerful for the small Lyric Theatre’s stage, especially on her forced upper notes.  I feel her voice is more suited to later Romantic works. The consistency of tone throughout her range was impressive.  Nolen was also saddled with an unfortunate wardrobe of a dark brown, 1980s-Texas-hair wig and white toga combination that made her look like Princess Vespa from Mel Brooks’ Spaceballs. Nolen and Harris’ duets were amazing however.  On “Ah! sì, fa core e abbracciami,” simply composed in parallel thirds, their blend and balance was evenly matched, pitch present, and vibrato restrained. I chuckled at the musical disconnect however, as the music immediately following this duet was in a major tonality and jaunty triple meter set to the lyrics, “you are the victim of a cruel deception.”  It was not ironic; rather it was Bellini writing pretty music at the expense of the drama.

Tenor Rafael Davila had the unenviable task of realizing a completely unlikeable character.  Pollione has no redeeming qualities and is a selfish lothario-brute throughout the opera.  Davila eased into his singing as the night progressed; the strained notes in “Meco all’altare di Venere” were rounded out in his later arias of the second act.  Bass Luiz-Ottavio Faria as Oroveso was overshadowed by the orchestra in his first aria but conductor Ward Holmquist shushed the pit subsequently.  Faria’s timbre did not seem pressed and displayed warmth throughout his range. KU/Lyric Opera Apprentice Artist Kristee Haney had an impressive debut in the minor role of Clotilde.  She was at ease on the stage displaying impressive diction, tasteful vibrato, and depth of tone.

The chorus numbers were a mixed bag not because of the singing, which was stronger here than in Carmen, but because of the direction.  Certain members of the chorus looked as though they were singing in a completely different opera as expressions in one piece would run the gamut from smiling to stoic.  I was not sure they understood what they were singing about. The war chorus “Squilla il bronzo del dio!...guerra, guerra” was suitably rousing though.  When the entire ensemble (minus Adalgisa) unleashed their full voices in the final minutes of the opera, it was spellbinding and all-encompassing in its power.

Aside from Nolen’s regrettable wardrobe the costuming was strong, even though the druids read more Greek than Gallic.  The set was a high-pitched, multitier rake of granite like slabs with diaphanous organic hangings of leaves.  The muted color palette made the Roman soldiers armor and Norma’s Act II pagan red vestment stand out as foreign entities to the sacred forest.  I wish that scenic designer Roberto Oswald had found a less obtrusive method of introducing the “Gong of Irminsul” rather than having it descend from the overhead rigging. I found the ending immolation completely unsatisfactory.  Fading in red lights and having Norma cover herself and Pollione with her red cape, while standing, does not equate burning to death on a pyre.  There may have been a malfunction backstage that added to the awkward ending, as random leaves/embers descended from overhead at strange intervals throughout the final scene.

Though not as riveting as Carmen, the Lyric’s first attempt at Norma is worth attending. Let’s hope the Lyric can maintain its perfect record of strong leading women in the much lighter Donizetti’s La fille du regiment.

REVIEW:
Lyric Opera of Kansas City
Norma
Runs November 6, 10, 12, 14, 2010
Reviewed Saturday, November 6, 2010
Lyric Theatre
11th and Central, Kansas City, MO
For tickets call 816-471-7344 or online at www.kcopera.org

Top photo: Rafael Davila and Brenda Harris as Pollione and Norma (Photo by Karen Almond)

By Lee Hartman

Editor-in-Chief; Traditional and New Classical Contributor

Lee Hartman holds degrees from the University of Missouri-Kansas City (D.M.A., M.M.) and the University of Delaware (B.M.). At the University of Delaware, he received a Dean's Scholar position enabling him to pursue an individually designed academic program combining music education and composition. At the University of Missouri-Kansas City he served for three years as the Assistant Director to Musica Nova, the conservatory's new music ensemble, while teaching a variety of composition classes.

In 2007 he was invited to both the Iceland Academy of the Arts in Reykjavík, Iceland and the Sichuan Conservatory in Chengdu, China to give lectures and master classes in composition. In the summer of 2009, Hartman served as an orchestra manager for the Aspen Contemporary Ensemble and Aspen Opera Theater Center for various performances. He serves on the National Executive Committee of the Society of Composers, Inc. as Submissions Coordinator. His primary composition instructors include James Mobberley, Chen Yi, Zhou Long, Paul Rudy, John Beall, and Jennifer Margaret Barker. He currently teaches music theory at the University of Central Missouri and general music classes at Park University having previously taught at UD (2007–08) and UMKC (2006–07).

His compositions can be found at http://www.leehartmanmusic.com