“Casta Diva” (Chaste Goddess) is the most famous aria of Vincenzo Bellini’s “Norma” (1831). It is sung by the title character, a Druidess or priestess of the Gauls, in the first act. The opera takes place in Gaul between 100 and 50 BC when the Romans were occupiers. The Gauls want Norma to declare war on the Romans, who have been oppressing them. Norma is hesitant to do so because she is secretly in love with Pollione, the Roman proconsul, and with whom she has borne two children. She assuages the people’s anger and convinces them that this is not the right time to revolt. She asserts that the Romans will eventually fall by their own doing, and the Gauls do not need to rise up now. It is at this point that Norma sings “Casta Diva,” a prayer to the moon goddess for peace, and eventually, conquering the Romans. When things between her and Pollione go sour, Norma tries to kill their children but ultimately cannot bring herself to do so. Eventually, she
confesses her relationship with Pollione and sacrifices herself on the funeral pyre of her lover.
“Norma” was the first of two operas commissioned in 1830 for which Bellini was paid an unprecedented 12,000 lire. “Norma” premiered on December 26, 1831 at La Scala, and the second opera, “Beatrice di Tenda,” premiered in 1833, but in Venice (La Fenice). Bellini collaborated with his long-time librettist and famous poet, Felice Romani, for “Norma.” Romani based his story on Alexandre Soumet’s verse tragedy “Norma ossia L’infanticidio” (“Norma, or The Infanticide”). However, he used a variety of sources as well, drawing on Étienne de Jouy’s libretto for “La Vestale” (Gaspare Spontini), François-René de Chateaubriand’s novel “Les Martyrs,” and Romani’s own earlier libretti “Medea in Corinto” (for Giovanni Simone Mayr) and “La sacerdotessa d’Irminsul” (for Giovanni Pacini). Bellini was hands-on in Romani’s creative process and contributed much to the shape of the libretto. He also made many alterations during Romani’s writing of the libretto; the text of “Diva Casta” alone went through eight revisions.
The role of Norma is one of the most taxing and wide-ranging parts in the repertory of bel canto opera. The role was written for the famed soprano Giuditta Pasta, who reportedly balked at the difficulty of “Casta Diva.” Bellini’s music is typified by melodic and rhythmic symmetry, and “Casta Diva” is no exception. This aria, as in the rest of the opera, is full of long melodic lines and difficult ornamentation (roulades and melismas). The melody systematically rises and climaxes at the end–a new technique in 1831. In other words, the aria is both technically difficult and unconventional, making it doubly hard to sing.
Only the best sopranos can master the role. Rosa Ponselle was one of those sopranos. She sang her first Norma at the Metropolitan Opera (New York) on November 16, 1927 under the baton of Tullio Serafin. Her “Casta Diva” was met with long thunderous applause from the audience. Contemporary reviews universally praised Ponselle for her technique, interpretation, and the quality of her voice. James Drake’s chapter on Ponselle said that Ponselle’s “depiction of the
tragic Druid priestess, both in the opera house and on recordings, set a standard by which all subsequent Normas have been measured. Few have even come close to her.” She reprised the role many times, and Norma became her most celebrated portrayal. In addition to the Metropolitan Opera, she debuted with “Norma” at the Covent Garden (London) in 1929.
