When it comes to Romans and Gauls, many do not think of Vincenzo Bellini’s opera “Norma”, but rather of short and thick-lived cartoon characters with blonde pigtails. This is obviously what happened to the director of the Dresden new production, Peter Konwitschny, which is why in the final act he lets the Gauls sing wild choirs in GDR-gray suits on the one hand, and red-blonde pigtail wigs on the other. Because they are angry. Her high priestess Norma (Yolanda Auyanet bravely survived with small highlights) betrayed her, not only made a pact with the Roman commander Pollione, but also led a wild marriage with him, which resulted in two children. “Small children”, as Konwitschny apologetically emphasizes in the program booklet, which he accommodates invisibly for the second act in a comfortably sprung stroller.
After Adalgisa, a novice of this celibate priestess order, confessed to her that she was also having a relationship with Pollione, a world collapses for Norma. Your world, to be precise, because the Gauls only want to wage war against the Romans. They are angry with their high priestess for bringing them a false message from the gods, namely to keep the peace instead of attacking the Romans. They would perish from their own arrogance, she prophesies, but the asterixes and obelixes cannot do anything with that. Bellini has theatricalized these final scenes with a powerful orchestral sound, and conductor Gaetano d’Espinosa cheers the Staatskapelle Dresden on to top performance in the orchestra pit of the Semperoper. Norma goes to the stake, Pollione, who is now again in love with her, follows her to death.
The Gauls here are savages who have no special demands on life, but do not want to share their roast wild boar with the Romans
Konwitschny thinks this is unfair. Because celibacy is a human cruelty, completely unacceptable. But why? Abstinence only affects the establishment of a family institution, not the act of living out the sex drive. This total prohibition comes about only through the indissoluble link between the two in bourgeois morality. Konwitschny, on the other hand, says that the “masculine way of being” has triumphed here, that Norma no longer has “the strength that she needs to exercise her political function”, “after her life nerve was cut, love”. Because she was powerless against her feelings, it was love at first sight. As with Adalgisa (Stepanka Pucalkova). And so the existential tragedy of not being able to reconcile feelings and political office turns into an indictment in Dresden against the Roman general, who does not refuse the women’s desire. No, that’s not enough either, Konwitschny turns the attractive warrior into a lousy macho who tugs at the women and hurls them to the ground, so that it finally becomes clear: This man is to blame. Everything.
The Ukrainian tenor Dmytro Popov makes every effort vocal and acting and gives the short-tempered villain, who finally capitulates meekly. A pathetic ending that contradicts the mighty music a bit. The battles of torn souls are still raging in the trench, loud and violent, as the Italian opera needs. After all, “Norma” is not a German singspiel of inwardness, but rather full musical theater.
Even if the romantically clouded forest scenes of the first act initially suggest something other than an end in the office chair. Between huge trees made of paper mache and a gentle breeze of strings, interspersed with horns, the priestess walks, speaks to invisible gods and preaches to the angry Gauls. These are savages who have no special demands on life, but do not want to share their roast wild boar with Romans. That is of course a bit poor for a basic Marxist-feminist thesis, which is why the director has to help a little and puts it on like this: Norma does not betray her people, but an ideology that is inhuman. Because of the celibacy and marginalization to which the traitor is exposed because of the breach of trust. Konwitschny says: “Norma is punished for her behavior as an example of disobedience and the right to autonomy.” For that, however, the practical implementation on stage turned out to be far too good for him, and therefore banal.