Norma

Few roles in the soprano repertoire match the vocal and dramatic demands of the title heroine of Norma, Bellini’s fiery bel canto drama about a druid priestess withholding a fatal secret. During the 2022–23 season, replacing an ailing colleague with very little notice, Australian soprano Helena Dix took on the formidable title character live during a Saturday Matinee Radio Broadcast. Alongside her, tenor Michael Spyres starred as Pollione, the illicit father of her children, who ultimately abandons her and kindles a new romance with the novice Adalgisa, sung by mezzo-soprano Ekaterina Gubanova. As Norma’s unbending father, the warrior Oroveso, bass-baritone Christian Van Horn completed the principal quartet, with veteran Italian maestro Maurizio Benini on the podium.