⭐⭐⭐

Federica Lombardi and ensemble in Norma at Wiener Staatsoper (Photo: Sofia Vargaiová)

Another weekend, another new Norma in Vienna. After Vasily Barkhatov’s production at Theater an der Wien last Sunday, the 'Battle of the Normas' continued with Cyril Teste directing at the Staatsoper. His Norma looks beautiful, it sounds beautiful and – thanks to a bespoke scent wafted into the auditorium – it even smells beautiful too. Unfortunately, Teste’s Personenregie is severely limited, with singers often parked squarely in front of the prompter’s box during arias and duets. Teste directs the scenery, but abandons his cast. The saving grace in his production was Federica Lombardi, making a sensational role debut.

Valérie Grall’s stage designs, evocatively lit by Julien Boizard, place the action in a vaguely 20th-century setting, the displaced Gauls seeking shelter in forests, bombed out factories or desecrated churches. Marie La Rocca’s costumes, especially the use of colourful headscarves, suggest eastern European – Ukrainian? – refugees. In a trench coat and leather jacket, the 'Roman proconsul', Pollione, wears little to suggest leading any occupying force.

As in his production of Salome here in 2023, Teste employs live filming on stage, projected onto gauze. These focus on Norma’s children (wonderfully acted) but also close-ups showing her fury and despair. The video projections (Mehdi Toutain-Lopez und Nicholas Dormus) also include gorgeous forest scenery to which an 'olfactory dimension' is tossed in, 'to echo the sacredness of the forest'.

Ensemble in Norma at Wiener Staatsoper (Photo: Michael Pöhn)

Does anyone remember Richard Jones’ scratch’n’sniff cards for The Love for Three Oranges in the late 1980s? Here we were given a card inside the programme book with a bespoke scent created by French perfumer Francis Kurkdjian, evoking pine forests. I swear that during the forest scenes, these woody, earthy tones were also sprayed into the auditorium.

These scents cannot disguise a stale, stagnant production. Teste’s direction of the principals is inert; his direction of the chorus is non-existent. Musically, there is much to be thankful for, even if some of the cast would be better suited to the more intimate space of Theater an der Wien.

Juan Diego Flórez, for example, does not have the biggest tenor sound, but he is a true bel canto stylist and sang well in his role debut as Pollione. (Incidentally, Freddie De Tommaso, last week’s bullish Pollione, should find the Staatsoper a more fitting arena when he takes over from Flórez in the May revival). Flórez often sang tenderly and was sensitive to the text. In Act 1, he sang both verses of his cabaletta, with interpolated high notes thrown in for good measure. Alas, his acting ability remains limited; receiving zero help from Teste, his Pollione was little more effective than a cardboard cutout.

As Adalgisa, Russian mezzo-soprano Vasilisa Berzhanskaya displayed a slim, wiry tone, top notes a little shrill – there was no transposing the role down for her. Ildebrando D’Arcangelo, with grizzled hair and an imposing bass, made much of the underwritten role of Oroveso, Chief of the Druids and Norma’s father.

But the biggest impression was made by Federica Lombardi, making a triumphant debut in the title role. I usually associate the Italian soprano with Mozart roles, although she has sung Mimì and Anna Bolena in recent years. Norma offers huge vocal challenges but Lombardi surmounted them superbly – long-breathed phrasing in ‘Casta diva’, agile ornaments and excitement in her cabaletta, fiery sparring with Flórez and her duets with Berzhanskaya were full of lovely colours and vocal shading. Her calls for a Roman bloodbath were exhilarating, but why was she only allowed to “pretend” strike the gong signalling the rebellion? It looks silly. Her final scene was superbly sung, carrying her can of petrol, walking in silhouette towards a drape projected with flames.

The other is Michele Mariotti, drawing wonderful detail from the orchestra – the string accents were particularly exciting – so it was sad to hear him booed at the curtain call. Yes, his tempi were spacious, but not unduly so; considering that more cuts were opened out than Francesco Lanzilotta at Theater an der Wien, the performance only ended six minutes later.

Until 26 May wiener-staatsoper.at