Bellini. I just don't get it, Norma or no Norma...

I need help. What is there apart from empty rumty-tum, trivial jollity - well, and the odd good tune - in Bellini's bel canto operas?I remember when it happened, the first - and only - time I ever fell asleep in an opera. Jane Eaglen was on stage in one of her career-defining roles as the heroine in Bellini's Norma at Scottish Opera in Glasgow. And as a callow teenager, I didn't know how lucky I was to be hearing this stellar performance, and somewhere during Act 2, I think, I fell into a slumbe...

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