Sedona.Biz – The Voice of Sedona and The Verde ValleySedona.Biz – The Voice of Sedona and The Verde Valley
    Sedona.Biz – The Voice of Sedona and The Verde Valley Sedona.Biz – The Voice of Sedona and The Verde Valley
    • Home
    • Sedona News
    • Business Profiles
    • Opinion
    • Mind & Body
    • Arts
    • Elections
    • Gift Shop
    • Contact
    • Advertise
    Sedona.Biz – The Voice of Sedona and The Verde ValleySedona.Biz – The Voice of Sedona and The Verde Valley
    Home » Met Live Opera season debuts with ‘Norma’ in Sedona Oct. 7
    Sedona International Film Festival

    Met Live Opera season debuts with ‘Norma’
    in Sedona Oct. 7

    September 26, 2017No Comments
    Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Email Reddit WhatsApp
    Share
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Email Reddit WhatsApp

    logo_SIFFMary D. Fisher Theatre is the home for the opera simulcast and encore events

    Sedona AZ (September 26, 2017) – The Mary D. Fisher Theatre is honored to continue to be the home for the Met Live Opera programs for the 2017-2018 season, presented by the Sedona International Film Festival. The season will officially kick off with Vincenzo Bellini’s “Norma” on Saturday, Oct. 7. There will be two shows that day: 10 a.m. (live simulcast) and 4 p.m. (encore).

    Plan to come early as Russell Fox will lead a pre-opera talk one hour before each production (9 a.m.for the morning show and 3 p.m. for the encore).

    The 2017–18 Met Live Opera season opens with a new production of Bellini’s masterpiece, starring Sondra Radvanovsky as the Druid priestess and Joyce DiDonato as her archrival, Adalgisa — a casting coup for bel canto fans. “Ponselle, Milanov, Sutherland, Callas … after last night, Radvanovsky can add her name to the list,” declared the Huffington Post when Sondra Radvanovsky made her Met role debut as Norma in 2013.

    20170926_Norma1X

    Tenor Joseph Calleja is Pollione, Norma’s unfaithful lover, and Carlo Rizzi conducts. Sir David McVicar’s evocative production sets the action deep in a Druid forest where nature and ancient ritual rule.

    This opera is an extraordinary fusion of sublime melody, vocal challenge, and dramatic power. It examines an ageless and archetypal situation: a powerful woman compromises her ideals for love, only to find herself betrayed by her lover. But equally gripping is her relationship with the younger woman who is the new object of her former lover’s attention and in whom Norma sees both a rival and a second self. The title role demands dramatic vocal power combined with the agility and technique of a coloratura singer. It is a daunting challenge that few can rise to: those who have are part of operatic lore.

    Act I

    Sedona Gift Shop

    Gaul, 50 B.C.E. In a forest at night, the priest Oroveso leads the druids in a prayer for revenge against the conquering Romans. After they have left, the Roman proconsul Pollione admits to his friend Flavio that he no longer loves the high priestess Norma, Oroveso’s daughter, with whom he has two children. He has fallen in love with a young novice priestess Adalgisa, who returns his love. Flavio warns him against Norma’s anger. The druids assemble, and Norma prays to the moon goddess for peace. She tells her people that as soon as the moment for their uprising against the conquerors arrives, she herself will lead the revolt. At the same time, she realizes that she could never harm Pollione. When the grove is deserted, Adalgisa appears and asks for strength to resist Pollione. He finds her crying and urges her to flee with him to Rome. She agrees to renounce her vows.

    In her dwelling, Norma tells her confidante Clotilde that Pollione has been called back to Rome. She is afraid that he will desert her and their children. Adalgisa confesses to Norma that she has a lover. Recalling the beginning of her own love affair, Norma decides to release Adalgisa from her vows and asks for the name of her lover. As Pollione appears, Adalgisa answers truthfully. Norma’s kindness turns to fury. She tells Adalgisa about her own betrayal by the Roman soldier. Pollione confesses his love for Adalgisa and asks her again to come away with him, but she refuses and declares she would rather die than steal him from Norma.

    Act II

    At home, Norma, dagger in hand, tries to bring herself to murder her children in their sleep to protect them from living disgracefully without a father. She changes her mind and summons Adalgisa, advising her to marry Pollione and take the children to Rome. Adalgisa refuses: She will go to Pollione, but only to persuade him to return to Norma. Overcome by emotion, Norma embraces her, and the women reaffirm their friendship.

    The druids assemble in the forest to hear Oroveso’s announcement that a new commander will replace Pollione. Oroveso rages against the Roman oppression, but tells the druids that they must be patient to ensure the success of the eventual revolt.

    Norma is stunned to hear from Clotilde that Adalgisa’s pleas have not persuaded Pollione to return to her, and in a rage she urges her people to attack the conquerors. Oroveso demands a sacrificial victim. Just then, Pollione is brought in, having profaned the druids’ sanctuary. Alone with him, Norma promises him his freedom if he will give up Adalgisa for her. When he refuses, Norma threatens to kill him and their children and to punish Adalgisa. She calls in the druids and tells them that a guilty priestess must die, then confesses that she is referring to herself. Moved by her nobility, Pollione asks to share her fate. Norma begs Oroveso to watch over her children, then leads her lover to the pyre.

    The Met Live Opera’s “Norma” will be shown at the Mary D. Fisher Theatre on Saturday, Oct. 7 at 10 a.m. (live simulcast) and 4 p.m. (encore). The pre-opera talks will take place one hour before each show. Tickets are $25 general admission, $22 for Film Festival members, and $15 for students. Season tickets for the entire 12th Anniversary season of the Met Live Operas are also available. Tickets are available in advance at the Sedona International Film Festival office or by calling 928-282-1177. Both the theatre and film festival office are located at 2030 W. Hwy. 89A, in West Sedona. For more information, visit: www.SedonaFilmFestival.org.

    Comments are closed.


    The Symbolism of Jan. 6

    By Tommy Acosta
    Don’t mess with symbols. Just ask author Dan Brown’s character Robert Landon. The worth of symbols cannot be measured. Symbols make the world-go-round. Symbols carry the weight of a thousand words and meanings. Symbols represent reality boiled down to the bone. Symbols evoke profound emotions and memories—at a very primal level of our being—often without our making rational or conscious connections. They fuel our imagination. Symbols enable us to access aspects of our existence that cannot be accessed in any other way. Symbols are used in all facets of human endeavor. One can only feel sorry for those who cannot comprehend the government’s response to the breech of the capital on January 6, with many, even pundits, claiming it was only a peaceful occupation. Regardless if one sees January 6 as a full-scale riot/insurrection or simply patriotic Americans demonstrating as is their right, the fact is the individuals involved went against a symbol, and this could not be allowed or go unpunished. Read more→
    Recent Comments
    • Terrie Frankel on 2023 Welcome Home Vietnam Veteran’s Day Tribute in Camp Verde
    • Blair C Mignacco on SB1100 Would Increase the Allowable Weight of OHVs
    • Jon Thompson on SB1100 Would Increase the Allowable Weight of OHVs
    • JB on The Symbolism of Jan. 6
    • Sean Dedalus on The Symbolism of Jan. 6
    Categories
    © 2023 All rights reserved. Sedona.biz.

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.