New screen version of Bellini’s “Norma” to premiere at Vyborg festival

RIA Novosti, Russia
Aug 17 2005

VYBORG, August 17 (RIA Novosti) – A new screen version of Vincenzo
Bellini’s opera “Norma” is expected to be among the highlights of
the 13th Window onto Europe film festival, now under way in the
northwestern Russian town of Vyborg.

The film’s director, Boris Airapetyan, said the opera-film genre,
highly popular in Europe these days, had almost sunk into oblivion
in Russia and that the most recent Russian production made in this
genre dated back to 1984.

Airapetyan said quite a few film distributors in the West had already
asked him for permission to screen the picture. He said that this
autumn, it would be simultaneously shown at open-air movie theaters
in five European cities (Salzburg, Vienna, Geneva, Stuttgart,
and Berlin). In Russia, however, the interest has been quite low.
Airapetyan said most of the national television broadcasters had
expressed doubt the film would fit in with their formats and only
executives of the arts channel Kultura had signaled they were willing
to run it.

“Norma,” which premiered in Milan in 1831, is believed to be one of
the most challenging operas. Out of its twenty stage productions,
only four were a success.

“But I decided to take the risk; I sought to find a clue to the
mystery behind this opera, benefiting from the brilliant vocalists
I had at my disposal, especially for the lead parts,” the director
said. “Asmik Papyan, a soloist with the Vienna Opera and [New York’s]
Metropolitan, sings the part of Norma, and Gegam Grigoryan, a soloist
of St. Petersburg’s Mariinsky Theater [also known in the West as the
Kirov], sings Pollion.”

In 2002, Airapetyan staged “Norma” for Armenia’s National Opera in
the capital of Yerevan. This production was shown at Moscow’s Bolshoi
Theater in 2003 and nominated for the national Golden Mask award in
five categories.

The screen version, too, was made in Airapetyan’s native country,
Armenia. Much of it was filmed in a temple erected by ancient Romans
to celebrate their conquest of Armenian lands.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress