The Musical Theater presents Vincenzo Bellini’s opera “Norma” directed by Adolf Shapiro with Khibla Gerzmava in the title role.

The Italian premiere of Norma took place on December 26, 1831 at La Scala in Milan. Four years later, the opera was presented in Russia by a German troupe, and the first production was carried out in St. Petersburg in 1837. However, despite its fame and popularity, Bellini’s work is extremely rarely staged in Russia, since it requires virtuoso mastery of the bel canto technique, and the role of Norma is one of the most difficult in the soprano repertoire. The opera “Norma” will be performed for the first time on the stage of the Musical Theatre.

The conflict between duty and feeling, which formed the basis of the original plot, has never lost (and apparently will not lose) its relevance. The composer and the author of the libretto, having placed his completely Italian heroes in the 1st century BC, and even turning them into druids fighting the Roman conquerors, put the creators of the play in a dilemma: try, following the stage directions, to recreate the customs and rituals of an unknown tribe, or , having caught the sound of the great melodies of V. Bellini, treat the circumstances of the time and place of action as a conventional form. The director and artist offered the artists a second path. We are talking about composing a poetic work. More precisely, poems on the main themes that art deals with: faith – love – death.