Album: Bellini, Norma - Orchestra La Scintilla/Antonini/Bartoli/Jo/Osborn (Decca)

This period-instruments recording of Norma is an extension of Cecilia Bartoli's 2007 tribute to the career of Maria Malibran.

From that recital disc, we know what Bartoli's account of "Casta Diva" sounds like, but the most poignant moments here come in the Act II scena e duetto between Bartoli's Norma and Sumi Jo's Adalgisa. The timbres of Orchestra La Scintilla are enchanting, the chorus robust, the whole admirably paced by conductor Giovanni Antonini.