Stage Door News
Stage Door News
Cineplex Events today announced the launch of the 2017/2018 season of The Met: Live in HD with a new production of Bellini’s classic Norma, in theatres across Canada on October 7, 2017.
Norma features one of this generation’s greatest sopranos, Caledon-area resident and new Canadian citizen, Sondra Radvanovsky, in the title role as the Druid priestess. The cast also includes Joyce DiDonato as her archrival, Adalgisa, and tenor Joseph Calleja as Pollione, Norma’s unfaithful lover. Carlo Rizzi conducts the Sir David McVicar production, which is set deep in a Druid forest where nature and ancient ritual rule.
Composed by Vincenzo Bellini and first performed at Teatro alla Scala in Milan in 1831, Norma is often referred to as the “Everest of Opera” and is considered one of the most difficult operatic roles to perform. According to a recent review of the production by The New York Times, it seems Sondra Radvanovsky was able to rise to the challenge: “Ms. Radvanovsky, with her bright, powerful voice and dramatic fervor, excelled in Norma’s moments of torment and fury. Her sound has a grainy cast, a slightly hard-edged quality. To her many admirers, that sound is the essence of raw, true emotion, something that came through on Monday from Ms. Radvanovsky’s first entrance.”
Audiences across Canada can experience Norma live from the Lincoln Centre in New York at Cineplex theatres across Canada on October 7, 2017 at 12:55 p.m. ET. The Italian production includes English subtitles and encore performances are scheduled for November 4, 6 and 8. For theatre locations and show times visit Cineplex.com. New this season, rush tickets are available 15 minutes prior to start time at $15, based on seating availability.
Photo: Sondra Radvanovsky as Norma. ©2017 Ken Howard.
2017-10-02
Toronto: Cineplex Events launches the 2017/18 season of The Met Live in HD with "Norma" October 7