Norma at Tennessee Theatre

Opera preview hosted by Maestro Salesky begins 45 minutes prior to each performance. A triangle of forbidden love unfolds against the backdrop of war between the Gauls and the Romans. Norma, the Druid Priestess, has betrayed her vows of chastity in liaison with the conquering Roman governor, who is now entangled in an affair with a younger priestess. Unable to protect her people against the Romans and humiliated by her own actions, Norma throws herself into the flames of the sacrificial pyre. The overwhelming passions of three intense characters inspired Vincenzo Bellini’s tragic masterpiece, featuring some of the most ravishing and dramatic music ever composed. Performed in Italian with projected English translations.