Aria of the high priestess Norma, from the opera "Norma" by Vincenzo BELLINI, libretto by Felice ROMANI.
Arrangement for SATB choir and piano by Emmanuel ROBIN.
Casta diva che inargenti
Queste sacre antiche piante,
A noi volgi il bel sembiante,
Senza nube e senza vel.
Tempra o diva,
Tempra tu de' cori ardenti,
Tempra ancora lo zelo audace.
Spargi in terra quella pace
Che regnar tu fai nel ciel.
While her father, the chief Oroveso, gathers warriors and druids to fight against the invader, she invokes the goddess of the Moon, offering her a branch of mistletoe to preserve peace.
Pollione rejects her, in love with a young priestess, Adalgisa. In spite of her attempts of reconquest, and after having hesitated to kill their children, Norma then turns her despair into revenge : she calls the Gauls to war, accuses Pollione of rape of the sacred sanctuary, and reveals her own treason by her union with the enemy.
They are united in death, condemned to be burned alive in sacrifice to the gods.
A well-known aria, ideal for choirs and conductors who already have a good level of practice: a demanding but rewarding repertoire!
A choir
setting on an original solo aria: it’s the crazy challenge of our "Arias
be good" series (Les grands airs vous feront du bien).
