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Ralph Moore's Survey of Norma
Posted by Noah Tunell on September 11, 2025, 6:28 pm
I was reading your excellent survey of Bellini's Norma, and I came across the statement, "with a tenor who must be a singer of the highest quality; great tenors who have evidently enjoyed displaying their trumpeting tones as Pollione include Martinelli, Del Monaco, Vickers and Corelli, all of whose voices are beefier than what Bellini had in mind, but Pollione’s martial arias and opportunities for grandstanding have proved irresistible to a big-voiced tenors" I think it is interesting that you say Bellini had something lighter in mind, as I actually believe that tenors like Corelli and Del Monaco are almost certainly closest to what Bellini had in mind. I think your preference for those heavier voices comes from the fact that the music was written for a very low, heavy voice. Pollione was written for the singer Domenico Donzelli, who was described as having a huge, strenuous, powerful, and very dark voice. He was known for being incredibly stentorian and declamatory, and struggling with coloratura and ornamentation. Although he would have used to head voice for the highest notes, he was known for bringing chest voice all the way to the G, which most of the role lies below as it was written for him. To me it seems like he was some type of heldentenor voice, and I think trying to cast a lighter, higher-lying voice even like Pavarotti is actually against what Bellini would have wanted. I think it is untrue that voices were mostly very light in the Bel Canto era, and I think this method of casting comes from a lack of heavy dramatic voices in modern day, not informed period practice. Based on my research it seems like there were almost as many vocal categories then as there are now. Norma especially seems to have been written for the largest dramatic voices of the time, and I see no reason to believe that they would not have been comparable in power and darkness to singers we can hear on recordings. Anyway, I just think it is interesting to speculate on what music may have sounded like in the past, thanks for reading! -Noah Tunell
Very interesting observations, Noah, and you may well be right that I should revise my assumption regarding what sort of voice Bellini had in mind. I certainly do not think that a tenor of John Osborn's type is appropriate, as per the Antonini studio recording, and that certainly explains why I instinctively prefer those heavier tenors.
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I was reading your excellent survey of Bellini's Norma, and I came across the statement, "with a tenor who must be a singer of the highest quality; great tenors who have evidently enjoyed displaying their trumpeting tones as Pollione include Martinelli, Del Monaco, Vickers and Corelli, all of whose voices are beefier than what Bellini had in mind, but Pollione’s martial arias and opportunities for grandstanding have proved irresistible to a big-voiced tenors" I think it is interesting that you say Bellini had something lighter in mind, as I actually believe that tenors like Corelli and Del Monaco are almost certainly closest to what Bellini had in mind. I think your preference for those heavier voices comes from the fact that the music was written for a very low, heavy voice. Pollione was written for the singer Domenico Donzelli, who was described as having a huge, strenuous, powerful, and very dark voice. He was known for being incredibly stentorian and declamatory, and struggling with coloratura and ornamentation. Although he would have used to head voice for the highest notes, he was known for bringing chest voice all the way to the G, which most of the role lies below as it was written for him. To me it seems like he was some type of heldentenor voice, and I think trying to cast a lighter, higher-lying voice even like Pavarotti is actually against what Bellini would have wanted. I think it is untrue that voices were mostly very light in the Bel Canto era, and I think this method of casting comes from a lack of heavy dramatic voices in modern day, not informed period practice. Based on my research it seems like there were almost as many vocal categories then as there are now. Norma especially seems to have been written for the largest dramatic voices of the time, and I see no reason to believe that they would not have been comparable in power and darkness to singers we can hear on recordings. Anyway, I just think it is interesting to speculate on what music may have sounded like in the past, thanks for reading! -Noah Tunell
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