Utah Opera Presents A Semi-Staged Concert Version Of Bellini's NORMA

Utah Opera presents a night of thrilling music and dramatic narrative with Vincenzo Bellini's "Norma," in a semi-staged production at Abravanel Hall on May 4 at 7:30 PM and May 6 at 7 PM. This new production of "Norma,", created by Utah Opera's Costume Shop and Scenic Studios, will feature costumes designed by Season 12 "Project Runway" finalist Bradon McDonald, and projected images and video designed by Greg Emetaz. Crystal Manich will direct the production, and Stephen Lord will conduct the Utah Symphony. Due to renovations of the historic Janet Quinney Lawson Capitol Theatre, Utah Opera's performances of "Norma" will take place in Abravanel Hall." Tickets priced $29-108 ($15 for students) are available for purchase through utahopera.org or by calling (801) 533-6683.

Soprano Marjorie Owens, who performed the title role in 2016 with the English National Opera, reprises Norma in her Utah Opera debut. The cast also features mezzo-soprano Annie Rosen making her Utah Opera debut in the role of Adalgisa, tenor Jonathan Burton, who previously performed with Utah Opera as Calaf in the 2014 production of Puccini's "Turandot," singing Pollione, and Adam Lau, returning after his fall 2018 debut in "Romeo and Juliet," performing Oroveso.

Named by "Opera News" as one of the "25 Most Powerful Names in U.S. Opera," Music Director Emeritus of Opera Theatre of Saint Louis Stephen Lord makes his Utah Opera debut conducting the Utah Symphony musicians, cast, and Utah Opera Chorus. Mr. Lord most recently conducted "Eugene Onegin" with Michigan Opera Theater and "Regina," with Opera Theatre of St. Louis. He looks forward to adding "Norma" to his repertoire as he continues with upcoming performances of "Sweeney Todd" with Michigan Opera Theatre and "La traviata" with the Canadian Opera Company.

Stage director Crystal Manich, whose recent credits include productions at Boston Lyric Opera, Buenos Aires Lírica, Pittsburgh Opera, The Santa Fe Opera and Washington National Opera, returns to lead her fourth Utah Opera production following "Così fan tutte" in March 2015, "The Elixir of Love" in March 2012, and "La bohème" in October 2010. This staging at Abravanel Hall will feature lighting components as well as image and video projections designed by Greg Emetaz, and new costumes created by designer Bradon McDonald, who formerly danced with the Mark Morris Dance Group and was a finalist on Season 12 of "Project Runway."

Video designer for this production Greg Emetaz will create a version of the ancient city of Gaul during Roman occupation through lighting techniques, videos, and projected images. Mr. Emetaz has designed videos and projected images for Jimmy López's "Bel Canto" at Lyric Opera of Chicago, "Werther" at Boston Lyric Opera, Terence Blanchard's "Champion" at Washington National Opera, and several productions for Opera Theatre of Saint Louis. Mr. Emetaz is the creative mind behind the horror-comedy feature "Camp Wedding" and the award-winning shorts "Bowes Academy," "Death by Omelette" and "Spell Claire." He is also the director of the web series "Do It Yourselfie: Songs for Millennials" and numerous music videos and commercials.

Juilliard School graduate and Season 12 Project Runway Finalist Bradon McDonald joins the Utah Opera Production Studios team to create couture-inspired costumes for the cast, including a dramatic gown with an impressive train to be worn by Utah Opera's Norma, Marjorie Owens. Since his days on TV, Mr. McDonald has spent time designing pieces for dance companies and theatrical productions, combining his love for the arts with his creative eye for design. While collaborating with Jessica Lang Dance in LA, Mr. McDonald explained, "It's like being in residence with artists where you're actually making something together, rather than working on each piece separately and hoping it fits."

In the role of Norma, considered to be one of the most difficult roles for a soprano, Marjorie Owens is making her Utah Opera debut with this production. Just as a courageous Norma leads her people spiritually as a Druid priestess, Ms. Owens leads the opera with a display of demanding arias and "Bel Canto" technique. Ms. Owens' other demanding roles have included Senta in "Der fliegende Holländer" and the title characters in Verdi's "Aïda" and Puccini's "Turandot."

"One thing I love about this character is that she's the one in charge of her own life," Ms. Owen explains. "She's not a victim of circumstance. No one has made her choices for her. She is like a calmer Medea, a Medea who thinks. At first she is emotional and acts out, but in the end she has the maturity to see what she has done and to accept the consequences."

Vincenzo Bellini, born November 3, 1801, in Sicily, was a famous operatic composer with a gift for creating pure and sensuous melodies. His influence is reflected not only in the works of composers who followed him, including the early works of Richard Wagner, but also in the instrumental music of Chopin and Liszt. Born into a family of musicians, Bellini produced his first works while still a student at the Naples Conservatory, where he had been sent by his father, an organist. Bellini's fame was closely bound up with the Bel Canto style of the great singers of his day.

By the time he conceived the idea for the opera that was destined to be his greatest, "Norma," he was only 28 years old, but already had an international reputation. He composed the work as half of a double commission for Italy's foremost opera house, La Scala in Milan, for production in 1830. Further proof that his career was already thriving: he commanded the unheard-of fee of 12 thousand lire for "Norma." This innovative opera shook Europe with its unconventional roles and demanding opening aria. A few years after the premiere of "Norma," reviews in Italy and elsewhere proclaimed "Norma conquers Europe."

Librettist Felice Romani, born in 1788, studied law and literature in Pisa and Genoa. Romani became the most highly regarded of all Italian librettists of his age, producing nearly one hundred works. As a rule, Romani did not create his own stories; he kept up with what was happening in the Paris theatre and adapted plays which were popular there. Romani wrote the librettos for Bellini's "Il pirate," "La straniera," "Zaira," "La sonnambula," "Norma" and "Beatrice di Tenda," for Rossini's "Il turco in Italia" and "Bianca e Falliero," and Donizetti's "Anna Bolena" and "L'elisir d'amore."

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