NORMA • LA MONNAIE BRUXELLES
★★★★★☆
Photo: Karl Forster
REVIEW NORMA AS A TRAFFIC ACCIDENT IN BRUSSELS
The daring Belgian designer and multi-artist Christophe Coppens has staged Bellini’s 1831 bel canto opera hit Norma as a kind of traffic accident at the magnificent Monnaie opera house in Brussels. The result is visually impressive, although decoding the director’s bizarre stage design requires considerable skill.
Photo: Karl Forster
Coppens has an artistic crush on cars, which in his imaginative view function as powerhouses in which we humans grapple with all our emotions, big and small.
In these mobile powerhouses, the opera’s characters live out their psychology in a range that extends from burning love to shattered hopes, despair, betrayal, and ice-cold revenge.
The opera is set in Roman-occupied Gaul and tells the story of Norma, a Druid high priestess, and her secret love for the consul of the occupying power, who leaves her for a younger model. A story of love, betrayal, and sacrifice that culminates in Norma’s death.
The Casta Diva aria – immortalized by Maria Callas – is delivered elegantly by the dark-voiced British soprano Sally Matthews, who cuts a fine figure in a sharp fashion look with ice-blonde Marilyn Monroe hair, a black turtleneck sweater, tight black jeans, and Dr. Martens-style boots.
A cool designer look that recurs throughout the production, for which Coppens was responsible for the set design, costumes, and overall conceptual idea.
Photo: Karl Forster
There are simply cars everywhere in many different versions. The Roman consul Pollione makes his entrance on the roof of a snow-covered Volkswagen that has been shot up through the stage floor. Here, the potent Italian tenor Enea Scala performs one of his powerful arias with confidence, charm, and gorgeous hair.
A little later, when his interest in the Gallic druid beauty Norma has cooled, he naturally bangs the young, attractive Adalagisa in a convertible that soars into the sky while the fun continues.
Photo: Karl Forster
Earlier, Norma touched our opera hearts with Casta Diva – with a suspended car dangling above her at a height that leaves no more than 10-15 cm between the title role holder and the car, which swings above her head with its lights on. Spotlight in a new way – quite a sight!
Photo: Karl Forster
When the characters clash towards the end of the second act, a kind of giant chandelier of chaotically dismantled car parts is lowered from the ceiling, creating spectacular lighting as the jealousy drama unfolds. A powerful, creative interpretation of turmoil in the back seat, or completely off the mark? Judge for yourself.
Coppens believes that the opera world takes too few chances. I can promise you that in this production, he tries to do something about the problem.
All in all, a violently improvised staging that just about survives because of its impressive, albeit difficult to decipher, design.
Musically, the opera makes an impression primarily with its fabulous choral pieces. The orchestra’s performance under Georges Petrou seemed uneven, especially in the first part, where several blurred wind sections were unfortunately noticeable.
Photo: Karl Forster
However, as an accompaniment to the monumental choral pieces, the orchestra really came into its own in the second part, elevating this strange but also entertaining experience at one of Europe’s leading opera houses.
The production is actually from 2022, when it just managed three performances with a total of a couple of hundred spectators in super-spaced safety seating before COVID-19 shut the party down. The performance has been revived with exactly the same cast as before.
As you know, GOT TO SEE THIS likes to reward boldness, even if in this case it comes close to running off the road.
Five stars for Christophe Coppens’ Norma.
