NORMA
MAR 13-22, 2020
Music by Vincenzo Bellini
Libretto by Felice Romani
Sung in Italian with English surtitles
Performance time is approximately 2 hours and 40 minutes including one intermission.
ANCIENT LOVE TRIANGLE | VIVID, CAPTIVATING MUSIC | ELECTRIFYING TITLE ROLE
An ancient Druid priestess is at the heart of Bellini’s rarely-performed gem, caught between her passion for an unfaithful Roman lover and her devotion to her people. With returning star Elena Stikhina in the title role. Supported by BLO favorites Alfred Walker, Jonathan Burton, and Sandra Piques Eddy, this story of passion, politics, and jealousy is a vocal tour de force not to be missed.
Program
In the forests of ancient Gaul, the Druid king Oroveso leads his army in prayer for revenge against their Roman occupiers. When they have left to return to their temple, the Roman general Pollione and his friend, Flavius, enter. Pollione confesses that he no longer loves Norma, Oroveso’s daughter and a powerful Druid priestess, even though she betrayed her people and broke her vow of chastity to be with him, secretly bearing his two children. Instead, he and a novice priestess named Adalgisa have fallen in love. A gong sounds, announcing Norma’s arrival with the Druids, and the Romans depart. Norma prays to the goddess for peace and for victory over the Romans in a coming revolt — but secretly, she admits to herself that she could never hurt Pollione. Later, alone, Adalgisa remembers how she fell in love with Pollione and prays for strength to resist him. He appears and convinces her to renounce her vows and run away with him to Rome.
At her home, Norma worries to her maid, Clotilde, that Pollione will return to Rome and desert her and their children. Adalgisa arrives and confesses that she has fallen in love with a Roman; Norma, sympathetic, is about to release her from her vows when Pollione enters, and the two women realize that they are both speaking of the same man. Norma is furious, accusing him of treachery, and Adalgisa is distraught. Pollione professes his love for Adalgisa and again asks her to come away with him, but now she refuses, declaring that she would rather die than leave her people for the man who betrayed Norma.
Anguished, Norma contemplates killing her sleeping children to spare them the pain of Pollione’s abandonment. But her love for them wins out, and she instead summons Adalgisa, begging her to marry Pollione and bring the children with them to Rome. Adalgisa rejects Norma’s plan, and only agrees to go to Pollione in order to plead with him to return to Norma. The two women embrace and vow their friendship.
In the forest, the Druids gather and Oroveso rages against the Roman occupation. Norma is with them, although she is preoccupied by waiting for Adalgisa’s return. Clotilde brings her news: Pollione will not return to her. Norma is enraged and strikes the gong, declaring war, as Adalgisa herself appears. Oroveso demands a human sacrifice to complete the war ritual. Just then, Pollione is dragged in — he has been captured in the sacred temple, attempting to abduct Adalgisa. Norma questions him alone, making a final, desperate attempt to get him back, but she realizes that she cannot bring herself to kill him. Instead, Norma tells the warriors that their sacrifice will be a priestess, one of their own who has betrayed her people, broken her vows, and had children with one of the enemy — Norma herself. Shock and dismay ripple through the crowd, and Norma begs her father to spare her children. As she steps to the pyre, Pollione joins her, moved by her act of selflessness.
Elena Stikhina
Soprano
Norma
Elena Stikhina returns to BLO having performed the title role in Tosca in her U.S. debut in 2017. Ms. Stikhina has since performed the title role of Suor Angelica in her debut with The Metropolitan Opera, Leonora in La Forza del Destino with the Semperoper Dresden, Cio-Cio-San in Madama Butterfly with The Dutch National Opera, the title role in Aida with the Grand Théâtre de Genève, and has returned to The Paris Opera in performances of La Forza del Destino and Prince Igor. Recent engagements include Leonora in Il Trovatore with the Deutsche Oper Berlin, Senta in Der Fliegende Holländer at Festspielhaus Baden-Baden and with Bayerische Staatsoper, performances in concert with the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, the Munich Philharmonic, and the Philharmonie de Paris, and her British debut at the BBC Proms singing Tatyana’s letter scene from Eugene Onegin. Ms. Stikhina also regularly appears as a guest soloist with the Mariinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg after developing her repertoire at the New Primorsky Stage of the Mariinsky Theatre in Vladivostock. Upcoming performances include Mimì in La Bohème and the title role in Adriana Lecouvreur with The Paris Opera, followed by a return to the Salzburg Festival and a summer festival with Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich.
Jonathan Burton
Tenor
Pollione
Jonathan Burton returns to BLO having performed the role of Cavaradossi in Tosca. Mr. Burton has recently sung Canio in Pagliacci with Opera Omaha, Dick Johnson in La Fanciulla del West with Maryland Lyric Opera, and Pollione in Norma with Utah Opera in his role debut. Mr. Burton has been heard as Calaf in Turandot with Sarasota Opera, Des Moines Metro Opera, and Knoxville Opera, Gustavo in Un Ballo in Maschera with Florida Grand Opera, Bacchus in Ariadne auf Naxos with Austin Opera, and his U.K. debut as Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly with Welsh National Opera. Operatic highlights include Radames in Aida, Don Jose in Carmen, Rodolfo in La Bohème, and more. This season, Mr. Burton sings Calaf with Austin Opera, Hermann in La Dame de Pique with Des Moines Metro Opera, Luigi in Il Tabarro with Maryland Lyric Opera, and made his debut with Lyric Opera of Chicago as Rodolfo in Luisa Miller. Mr. Burton has appeared with companies including Royal Opera House Muscat, Dubai Opera, Palm Beach Opera, Opera Colorado, Central City Opera, Utah Opera, and Nashville Opera, among others. Mr. Burton has sung under the baton of Lorin Maazel in multiple productions at the Castleton Festival, concerts in Washington, D.C., and in Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of the reopening of Teatro La Fenice.
Sandra Piques Eddy
Mezzo-Soprano
Adalgisa
Sandra Piques Eddy returns to BLO where she has performed in Werther, Kátya Kabanová, Così Fan Tutte, Madama Butterfly, and more. Recent performances include role debuts as Dido in Dido and Aeneas with Florentine Opera, as Orfeo in Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice with Portland Opera, and as Meg Page in Falstaff with Opera Colorado. Ms. Eddy’s successes also include creating the role of Young Wife in the World Premiere of Scott Wheeler’s Naga, part of the Ouroboros Trilogy, in Boston, and company debuts as the title role in Carmen with Michigan Opera Theatre, Austin Opera, Opera North (U.K.), Portland Opera, Calgary Opera, Lyric Opera of Kansas City, and with Seiji Ozawa in Tokyo and Nagoya, Japan. Ms. Eddy has sung more than 100 performances with The Metropolitan Opera, in roles including Novice in Suor Angelica, Fiona in Nico Muhly’s Two Boys, Mercédès in Sir Richard Eyre’s production of Carmen, Cherubino in Le Nozze di Figaro, Lola in Cavalleria Rusticana, and many more. Internationally, Ms. Eddy has performed with Opera North (U.K.), Vancouver Opera, Canadian Opera Company, and was a featured soloist in The Seven Ages of Shakespeare Concert with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra in England. Ms. Eddy’s upcoming performances include a return to Opera North (U.K.) as Dinah in Trouble in Tahiti.
sandrapiqueseddy.com
Alfred Walker
Bass-Baritone
Oroveso
Alfred Walker returns to BLO where he performed the title role in The Flying Dutchman. Mr. Walker’s recent operatic performances include Crown in Porgy and Bess, Speaker in The Magic Flute, and Titurel in Parisfal with The Metropolitan Opera, the Ruler in Das Wunder der Heliane with Bard Summerscape, Vater in Hansel und Gretel and Orest in Elektra with San Francisco Opera, Amonasro in Aida and Porgy in Porgy and Bess with Seattle Opera, Méphistophélès in Faust with Portland Opera, Kurwenal in Tristan und Isolde with Angers Nantes Opera and Opéra de Dijon, and Wotan in Das Rheingold with North Carolina Opera. Mr. Walker also recently joined the American Symphony Orchestra as the Man with the Helmet in Martinů’s Julietta at Carnegie Hall. Mr. Walker is also a concert artist who has sung with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, Stuttgarter Philharmoniker, the Handel and Haydn Society, American Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Sydney Symphony, the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, Boston Symphony Orchestra as Porgy in Porgy and Bess in performances conducted by Bramwell Tovey, and more. Mr. Walker’s upcoming performances include the title role in Porgy and Bess with Washington National Opera and a return to The Metropolitan Opera as Masetto in Don Giovanni.
Robyn Marie Lamp
Soprano
Clotilde
Robyn Marie Lamp is a BLO Jane and Steven Akin Emerging Artist. In 2019, Ms. Lamp made her Carnegie Hall debut singing the soprano solo in Ralph Vaughan Williams’ Dona Nobis Pacem with Mid-America Productions. Recent operatic performances include the title role in Suor Angelica with Opera Fusion in South Florida and Adele in Il Pirata at The Caramoor Summer Music Festival. Ms. Lamp has sung roles including Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni, Mimì in La Bohème, First Lady in The Magic Flute, Fiordiligi in Così Fan Tutte, Ariadne in Ariadne auf Naxos, the title role in Lucrezia Borgia, and more. On the concert stage, Ms. Lamp has performed as the soprano soloist in Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with the South Florida Symphony Orchestra, Verdi’s Messa da Requiem at Mechanics Hall, and Puccini selections in concert with Gulfshore Opera. Highlights also include Handel’s Messiah, Barber’s Knoxville: Summer of 1915, Brahms’ Ein Deutsches Requiem, and more. Ms. Lamp has appeared as a Sarasota Opera Young Artist and has been a three-time Regional finalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions.
Omar Najmi
Tenor
Flavio
Omar Najmi returns to BLO as a Jane and Steven Akin Emerging Artist alumnus, having appeared in many productions with the Company including Kátya Kabanová, The Love Potion, Lizzie Borden, I Puritani, Rigoletto, The Magic Flute, The Handmaid’s Tale, and Pagliacci. Mr. Najmi has been a Young Artist with Chautauqua Opera, Opera Saratoga, and Opera North. He is also an alumnus of the Opera Colorado Young Artist Program, where he performed in Lucia di Lammermoor, La Fanciulla del West, The Elixir of Love, and The Barber of Seville. Operatic credits include Don Giovanni, The Merry Widow, and Idomeneo with Opera NEO, Flight and Little Women with Opera Fayetteville, Lucio Silla with Odyssey Opera, the La Reina workshop with the American Lyric Theater, and more. Mr. Najmi made his Carnegie Hall debut in 2018 as the tenor soloist in Mark Hayes’ Gloria and has performed on the concert stage with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra, the Southeastern Pennsylvania Symphony Orchestra, Cape Cod Chorale, and others. As a composer, he recently premiered his first original chamber opera, En la Ardiente Oscuridad.
David Angus
Conductor
David Angus is Music Director of Boston Lyric Opera, following a very successful period as Music Director of Glimmerglass Opera. He was formerly the Chief Conductor of the Flanders Symphony Orchestra for many years and built that orchestra into one of the most exciting young orchestras in Northern Europe. Maestro Angus now conducts all over Europe and North America. He began his career working at Opera North (U.K.) and at Glyndebourne, where he conducted a wide range of operas, and went on to work in Italy and across Europe. In the concert hall, he performs particularly in the U.K. and Scandinavia, and this season, apart from conducting productions at BLO, includes a return visit to Hawaii Opera Theatre, and further work in the concert hall and recording studio with the London Philharmonic.
Stephanie Havey
Stage Director
Stephanie Havey, winner of both the Adelaide Bishop award for artistic quality and the OPERA America Director-Designer Showcase, has staged productions for Pittsburgh Opera, Michigan Opera Theatre, Arizona Opera, Atlanta Opera, Opera Omaha, New York City Opera, Hawaii Opera Theatre, and more. Her work includes new productions of La Rondine for The Curtis Institute of Music, Tosca for the Lyrique-en-Mer International Festival de Belle-Île, Shining Brow for Tulsa Opera, Rigoletto for Syracuse Opera, and Gluck’s Armide for Opera NEO. Ms. Havey’s additional professional engagements include Central City Opera, The Glimmerglass Festival, Sarasota Opera, and Opera North, among others. As a frequent collaborator for the development and staging of new opera, she has collaborated with Opera Philadelphia for their Double Exposure event and OPERA America’s New Works Forum. Ms. Havey was the Resident Stage Director for North American New Opera Workshop, a member of the staging staff at San Francisco Opera and The Santa Fe Opera, and has been the guest instructor for multiple prestigious Young Artist training programs. Ms. Havey’s upcoming engagements including Eugene Onegin with Seattle Opera and Opéra de Montréal, The Crucible for Opera Santa Barbara, La Traviata with Hawaii Opera Theatre, Florencia en el Amazonas with the Pittsburgh Opera, and more.
Julia Noulin-Mérat
Set Designer
Julia Noulin-Mérat is an international production designer and the founder of Noulin-Mérat Studio. In addition to her work as Associate Producer for Boston Lyric Opera, Ms. Noulin-Mérat is the Co-Artistic Director for Guerilla Opera. She has designed over 400 opera, theater, and television productions, including 18 new operas and 22 new plays, and has produced 50 shows. She has served on the panel for OPERA America adjudicating the Tobin Director-Designer showcase and recently received OA’s Women’s Opera Network mentorship distinction. Recent credits include Rigoletto for Minnesota Opera, Le Monde à l’Envers for Wolf Trap Opera, Tosca and Falstaff for Opera Omaha, Gallo, Pedr Solis, and Troubled Water for Guerilla Opera, L’Heure Espagnole and Scalia/ Ginsburg for Castleton Festival, Sumeida’s Song and 27 for Pittsburgh Opera, and The Rake’s Progress, The Threepenny Opera, The Barber of Seville, and Pagliacci for BLO. Other projects include a TEDx talk on site-specific opera productions in the modern age, Neverland for China Broadway, a 50,000 square foot immersive theater piece in Beijing based on Peter Pan, and Playground for Opera Omaha, a national touring operatic sound sculpture in collaboration with composer Ellen Reid. Ms. Noulin-Mérat is an adjunct professor at Pace University and holds degrees from Boston University in Business and Scenic Design.
Shura Baryshnikov
Movement Director
Shura Baryshnikov is an interdisciplinary artist who works broadly as a dancer, actor, improvisor, choreographer, and somatic movement educator. Ms. Baryshnikov has co-founded a number of dance projects, including the Contact Improvisation research and performance ensemble Set Go, and has also collaborated with dancemakers Gabriel Forestieri, Heidi Henderson, Betsy Miller, Lorraine Chapman, Danielle Davidson and others. In recent seasons, she has choreographed for productions at Boston Lyric Opera, Trinity Repertory Company, Bridge Repertory Company, Khambatta Dance Company and Urbanity Dance and appeared in productions at the The Gamm Theatre, Odyssey Opera, Bridge Rep, Trinity Rep, and Festival Ballet Providence. She is Head of Physical Theatre for the Brown/Trinity Rep MFA Program in the Department of Theatre Arts and Performance Studies at Brown University where she has instructed since 2011. She has also instructed in both theater and dance at MIT, Dean College, and Connecticut College.
Charles Neumann
Costume Designer
Charles Neumann returns to BLO having designed costumes for The Threepenny Opera and Pagliacci. Mr. Neumann is a Boston-based designer and illustrator and has worked with organizations including Edgewood Studios, Central City Opera, MassOpera, and others. Mr. Neumann has been featured in Boston Fashion Week and has shown at charity events including Urban Nights, a fundraiser for homeless and at-risk youth sponsored by Urban Peak, and WE CAN with Mondo Guerra, sponsored by AIDS Connecticut. Mr. Neumann holds a degree in Fashion Design and Production from Lasell College and completed a costume internship with Central City Opera.
Pablo Santiago
Lighting Designer
Pablo Santiago returns to BLO having designed lighting for The Threepenny Opera, Schoenberg in Hollywood, and Pagliacci. Mr. Santiago’s lighting design spans theater, opera, dance and gallery work. His designs have been seen at Arena Stage in Washington, D.C,, the Paramount Center in Boston, Skirball Center in New York City, South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa, CA, Mark Taper Forum and Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles, Los Angeles Theatre Center, and more. Recent highlights include War of the Worlds for the LA Philharmonic, Pélleas et Mélisande for Cincinnati Symphony, Breaking the Waves for Opera Philadelphia and PROTOTYPE Festival, Destiny of Desire for the Goodman Theatre and Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Flight and Pagliacci for Opera Omaha, Ted Hearne’s Place at Brooklyn Academy of Music, the professional world premiere of Proving Up for Opera Omaha and the Miller Theatre in New York City, Eugene Onegin for The Boston Conservatory, Boris Godunov for San Francisco Symphony, and Pulitzer Prize-winner Prism for Teatro Municipal in São Paulo, Los Angeles Opera, PROTOTYPE Festival, and the Kennedy Center.
Ronell Oliveri
Wig & Makeup Designer
Ronell Oliveri is a wig and wakeup designer for opera, theater, ballet, and film and has worked with companies including Minnesota Opera, The ART, and The History Channel over the past 18 years. In 2007, Ms. Oliveri was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for her work as a key makeup artist in television. She is currently the resident Wig and Makeup Designer for Opera Colorado, Opera Omaha, and Central City Opera. Ms. Oliveri’s recent engagements include Proving Up with Miller Theater, Opera Omaha’s One Festival, and Tosca with Opera Colorado. Her designs have been featured in productions with Chicago Lyric Opera, LA Opera, Santa Fe Opera, Opera Theater of Saint Louis, The Boston Ballet, VH1, and Calliope films. Ms. Oliveri’s work has also been seen in several Broadway shows including Wicked, All the Way, and Waitress.
Chorus
Chorus Master Brett Hodgdon
Soprano
Alisa Cassola
Molly Crookedacre
Jessica Jacobs
Jessine Johnson
Tamra Grace Jones
Marie McCarville
Brianna Robinson
Kimberly Sandoval
Abigail Smith
Isabelle Zeledon
Alto
Megan Callahan
Heather Gallagher
Felicia Gavilanes
Elizabeth Kinder
Rebecca Krouner
Katherine Maysek
Arielle Rogers
Vanessa Schukis
Tenor
Quinn Bernegger
David Rivera Bozón
Ethan Bremner
Christon Carney
Frank Levar
Christopher Maher
Thomas Oesterling
Francis Rogers
Patrick Starke
Fred VanNess
Bass
Jorgeandrés Camargo
RaShaun Campbell
Junhan Choi
Kamil Ekinci
Mitch FitzDaniel
Fred Furnari
Taylor Horner
Todd McNeel
Blair Mellow
Devon Russo
Marcus Schenck
Ron Williams
Orchestra
Concertmaster Annie Rabbat
Violin I
Annie Rabbat, Concertmaster
Colin Davis
Zenas Hsu
Robert Curtis
Sandra Kott
Roksana Sudol
Yonah Zur
Annegret Klaua
Rohan Gregory
Nivedita Sarnath
Violin II
Sarah Atwood, Principal
Janny Joo
Stacey Alden
Asuka Usui
Lena Wong
Lisa Goddard
Maynard Goldman
Joseph Lorang
Viola
Kenneth Stalberg, Principal
David Feltner
Don Krishnaswami
Russell Wilson
Emily Rome
Anna Griffis
Cello
Melanie Dyball, Acting Principal
Steven Laven
Jan Pfeiffer-Rios
Eleanor Blake
Bass
Barry Boettger, Acting Principal
Kevin Green
Brian Thacker
Flute
Linda Toote, Principal
Flute/Piccolo
Iva Milch
Oboe
Nancy Dimock, Principal
Mary Cicconetti
Clarinet
Jan Halloran, Principal
Nicholas Brown
Bassoon
Ronald Haroutunian, Principal
Rachel Juszczak
French Horn
Whitacre Hill, Acting Principal
Dirk Hillyer
Clark Matthews
Iris Rosenstein
Trumpet
Bruce Hall, Principal
Greg Whitaker
Trombone
Robert Couture, Principal
Victoria Garcia-Daskalova
Cameron Owen
Cimbasso
Donald Rankin, Principal
Harp
Anna Ellsworth, Acting Principal
Timpani
John Tanzer, Acting Principal
Percussion
Gregory Simonds, Acting Principal
Abraham Finch
Study Guide
For press images, please visit
The Norma Media Kit
Alfred Walker and BLO Chorus perform Ite sul colle o Druidi
Elena Stikhna makes her role debut as Norma performng the challenging aria Casta Diva
Elena Stikhina, Alfred Walker, and the BLO Chorus perform Guerra Guerra
Elena Stikhina makes her role debut of Norma alongside Sandra Piques Eddy, Jonathan Burton, Alfred Walker, Brianna J. Robinson, Omar Najmi, and Robyn Marie Lamp
The cast shares their role in in Boston Lyric Opera’s 2020 production of Norma
The cast shares what they love about performing Boston Lyric Opera’s 2020 production of Norma
Elena Stikhina and Sandra Piques-Eddy perform Si fino all ore estreme
Jonathan Burton performs Me protegge, me Difende