Bartoli’s back on the treasure trail with her Norma video
After offering clues taken from ‘webisodes’ filmed during the recording of Cecilia Bartoli‘s cd Mission, which eventually led to the name of the composer featured on the disc, Decca are being cunning again by offering ‘exclusive content’ to stir up interest in La Ceci’s latest project.
Following this link, it is possible to play a little game to reconstruct the cover of Norma, figuring Bartoli as she will presumably be styled for the Salzburg production on 17 May; an Anna Magnani type, as she appeared in Franco Zeffirelli‘s legendary production of Giovanni Verga’s La Lupa in Florence in 1965.
If you’d rather not play the game, after 5 minutes it lets you see the video prize anyway: a peek backstage during the recording of the opera, with Giovanni Antonini conducting (as he did on the Sacrificium and Vivaldi discs). It’s just a 1½ minute promo, but it gets the mouth watering anyway. Those of us who caught the concert performances in Dortmund in June 2011 know that this appetizer will be more than equalled by the main course.
And for those in a hurry who don’t want to wait 5 minutes, you can see the clip directly on YouTube!
Graham Spicer, aka ‘Gramilano’, is a writer, director and photographer based in Milan. He was a regular columnist for Opera Now magazine and wrote for the BBC until transferring to Italy. His articles have appeared in various publications from Woman’s Weekly to Gay Times, and he wrote the Danza in Italia column for Dancing Times magazine. Graham was the historical advisor on Codice Carla, the 2023 documentary on Carla Fracci.
Graham also works as a dance photographer, and his photos have appeared in many books, theatre programmes, and magazines, including Dancing Times, Dance Spirit and Ballet2000, as well as all the major Italian newspapers.
He is a member of the Dance Section of The Critics’ Circle.
angel’s voice transformed . my debt .