Opera Scotland

Norma 1861Grand Italian Opera

Read more about the opera Norma

Therese Tietjens was famed for her dramatic interpretations of leading roles such as Norma, rather different from the approach of sopranos of the previous generation such as Giulia Grisi and Jenny Lind. Signor Giuglini and Madame Caradori were also notable singers nearing the end of very different careers. Giuglini was still in his thirties, but suffered mental health problems, while Caradori was sixty and nearing the end of an illustrious career, which had included the creation of Juliet in Bellini's Capulets and Montagues opera of 1830.

This performance was the climax of a week in which Tietjens had given Edinburgh audiences four of her most widely recognised roles - Leonora (Il trovatore), Lucrezia Borgia, and Lucia preceded this most demanding of bel canto exhibitions (with a night off halfway through).