It was extraordinary to listen to Edita Gruberova as Norma in Vincenzo Bellinis opera at Bayerisches Staatsoper in  Münich at the first evening with this opera Friday April 15th
. 2011
. She is one of the last big operaprimadonnas still going strong and with all the high tunes in place, but however sometimes screaming them, and the earlier wonderful coloratura is not as beautiful as it was 30 years ago, but she still has the autority and is starting and ending where it is supposed to be. On stage she has the autority and the stage appearance, but in Casta Diva she had her idea of the tempo, which was faster than the great condutor Friedrid Haider´s, but each keept their two different tempi, and strange, the came in goal at he same time
. And from the orchesters side I feeled that the orchestra tempo was the best, and that Madame Gruberova only was rushing a bit, as that is her first aria on stage after tha entrance recitatival parts
. The second part of Casta Diva was going better, then madame Gruberova was waiting for the conductor, and it became quit good. But after the mentioned first big soloaria Casta Diva, it became better and better and some of her duets with the first class tenor Zoran Todorovich as Pollione, his beautiful and powerful voice lost a bit of the beauty in his first high tunes, I suppose it was because of the big power he started with, and it is not allways so easy to keep that big power and then it is too beautiful, but later in the opera it was more beautiful.  Zoran Todorivich duets with Madame Gruberovas and her duets with the wonderful young Sonia Ganassi as Adalgisa were highlights of the season.

The staging of, scenography, costumes and light was as often in Münich by Jürgen Rose, and again he is making modernising ideas, which looks quite well, I dont see the rightness of the combination of the weapon spid and armed guns at the same time, this was running in two directions. But in this piece the music, the soloists, the orchestra and the choire is the most importent to tell the demanding history of a three coornered love story, and when these parts are well, and professionelly and artistically beautiful taken care of the costumes are not importent

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It was a great pleasure to enjoy it.