The will to resist the Roman occupiers is growing among the Galls, and Norma should finally give the sign for an uprising against the oppressor in the name of the god of war. But she hesitates due to a conflict of conscience: despite her vow of chastity, Norma has two children, hidden from the public, fathered by the Roman Pollione. When she finds out that Pollione loves the novice Adalgisa and wants to run away with her, her situation seems hopeless. If she reveals her double life, she risks not only her own standing, but that of her children as well.

Vincenzo Bellini’s opera, which premiered in 1831, is considered the epitome of bel canto, but it offers a great deal more than just “beautiful singing.” Richard Wagner already acknowledged that the amazing dramatic music is a portrait of the protagonist’s soul. In his interpretation, Vasily Barkhatov underscores Norma’s sense of being torn between her public role and her personal feelings against the backdrop of a political revolution.