Bellini: Norma ****
Royal Opera, 12th September 2016
“Well, I think my Norma is something in between Maria Callas and Cecilia Bartoli.”Sonya Yoncheva, stepping into the title role at Covent Garden when Anna Netrebko decided Norma wasn’t for her after all, was giving herself plenty of wriggle room when interviewed last month in The Sunday Times. Perhaps it was good she raised the spectre of Callas herself, because plenty of others would have been ready to do so. In the end, Yoncheva’s Norma is a good deal closer to the legendary Greek soprano on the vocal spectrum than many would have wagered.
Sonya Yoncheva (Norma)
© ROH | Bill Cooper
Read the full review on Bachtrack.