A powerful ruler impaled by lust for a woman half his age. The mother of his children torn between patriotic duty and jealous rage. Political crisis, social upheaval and war, all the result of ungovernable human passions.
Sound familiar? Of course it does. This is an age-old story that history updates only in the details.
So it will be deja vu all over again Thursday, when the Baltimore Opera Company opens its second production of the season, Vincenzo Bellini's "Norma," a tragic tale of love and betrayal written in 1831 that proves the more things change, the more they stay the same.
Here is Pollione, the philandering Roman ruler of ancient Gaul, who recklessly casts aside his long-time consort, the Druid high priestess Norma, for a fetching novice who foolishly falls for his charm.
The feckless lovers are beset by unsettled times, rumors of rebellion and an explosive secret that once revealed will consume all in a conflagration of vengeance and remorse.
Bellini recounts this tale of an eternal triangle in a musical drama of endless, soaring melodies and brilliant coloratura flourishes that recall the pianistic virtuosity of his great contemporary and friend Frederic Chopin.
The role of Norma, which exemplifies the musical style known as "bel canto," or "beautiful singing," is one of the most vocally and physically taxing in the entire soprano repertory.
Maria Callas, Joan Sutherland and Rosa Ponselle, the legendary Metropolitan Opera Company star who founded Baltimore's opera company, are among the handful of singers in recent times who have managed to master its formidable difficulties.
The score calls for a voice - actually several different voices - of exceptional range and power. For example, in the famous aria "Casta Diva," in which Norma invokes the gods' support for her people's struggle against the Romans, the melody is one long rising arc of sound with hardly space for a breath.
Norma is at times lyrical, dramatic and tender. The actress who portrays her must remain on stage for a grueling two of the opera's 2 1/2 hours.
In the Baltimore production, the title role will be sung by Armenian-born soprano Hasmik Papian, one of the hottest new talents to emerge from the former Soviet Union in the aftermath of communism's collapse.
Papian, who has both the good looks and the huge, juicy sound needed to make the role work, has scored great success as Norma in Europe.
