"Casta diva" (1831)
A prayer to the moon goddess for peace, sung while cutting the sacred mistletoe; a test of legato that daunts every soprano
Recording: Vincenzo Bellini (1801 - 1835) Claudia Muzio (1889 - 1936) · Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
Opera · Italian opera
Norma
26 December 1831, La Scala, Milan
Vincenzo Bellini · libretto by Felice Romani
Bellini's masterpiece and the summit of bel canto: a tragedia lirica in two acts set in Roman-occupied Gaul. The Druid high priestess has secretly borne two children to the Roman proconsul Pollione, who has now transferred his affections to the young novice Adalgisa. Rather than sacrifice her rival or her children, she denounces herself before her own people and walks onto the pyre, with Pollione following her into the flames. Its Act I prayer to the moon is the most demanding aria in the soprano repertory.
How to spot them
- ▸Gaul under Roman occupation; Druids, a sacred grove, mistletoe cut with a golden sickle, and a shield struck to call for war
- ▸Voices: the high priestess (dramatic coloratura soprano), Adalgisa (soprano or mezzo), Pollione (tenor), Oroveso (bass)
- ▸The long-breathed prayer to the chaste goddess of the moon, over an arpeggiated flute and harp accompaniment
- ▸Clue patterns: Romani, La Scala 1831, a disastrous first night, Pasta, Callas, Wagner's admiration
Arias & moments — listen
"Ah! bello a me ritorna" (1831)
The cabaletta that follows the moon prayer, where public piety gives way to private longing
"Deh! con te, con te li prendi" (1831)
The Act II duet for the two women, in which the novice begs the priestess not to abandon her children
"Guerra, guerra!" (1831)
The chorus of Druids after the sacred shield is struck three times and war is declared on Rome
"In mia man alfin tu sei" (1831)
The confrontation duet: the priestess holds her faithless lover's life in her hands and offers him a bargain
"Qual cor tradisti, qual cor perdesti" (1831)
The final duet on the way to the pyre, where the Roman's love returns too late
Quick-fire facts
- •Music by Vincenzo Bellini, libretto by Felice Romani, in Italian; a tragedia lirica in two acts.
- •It premiered at La Scala, Milan, on 26 December 1831, and the first night was a failure — Bellini called it a fiasco — though the run recovered quickly.
- •Romani's source was Alexandre Soumet's play Norma, ou L'infanticide, staged in Paris earlier the same year.
- •The title role was created by Giuditta Pasta, who at first refused 'Casta diva' as unsingable and had Bellini transpose it down from G to F; it is usually sung in F today.
- •'Casta diva' is a prayer to the moon, sung as the priestess cuts mistletoe with a golden sickle.
- •Wagner conducted the opera and wrote an extra bass aria for Oroveso; he praised Bellini's melody above almost all Italian music.
- •Maria Callas sang the role nearly ninety times and is the singer most identified with it; Rosa Ponselle and Joan Sutherland are the other benchmarks.
- •The heroine does not kill her children, unlike the Medea figure she is often compared with — she confesses in their place and is burned alive.
- •The final scene sends both lovers to the pyre together, having first entrusted the children to Oroveso.
Drill it — 8 cards
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Sources
- Grove Music Online (Oxford Music Online) — Norma Premiere, Soumet source, Pasta's transposition and reception
- Gustav Kobbé, rev. the Earl of Harewood and Antony Peattie — The New Kobbé's Opera Book Synopsis and the numbering of the arias, duets and choruses