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An African 'Norma'
GIUSEPPE PENNISI compares
La Fenice's Bellini revival with
an earlier production in Naples
As I discussed here a few months ago, Vincenzo Bellini's Norma has often been staged, in the last few years, not during the Roman occupation of the Gallic lands (where France is now) but in the most different and diverse settings such as in Tibet under Chinese domination, in the ruins of a church in Northern Europe during World War II, and in France during German occupation. The Fall season of La Fenice in Venice was inaugurated with a revival of a production whose successful, albeit discussed, debut had been last year. In the staging, Norma is placed in the Congo during French domination when, as explained in the program notes, the governor was the Italian explorer, Pietro Savorgnan di Brazza. According to the Italian and French history books, he was a true believer of the 'white man's burden' to bring civilization to the natives...
Copyright © 5 September 2016
Giuseppe Pennisi,
Rome, Italy
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