'Norma' was Vincenzo Bellini's eighth opera and the one that secured his fame and fortune as a composer. The conflict in the opera is between the native Druids of Britain and the Roman soldiers who are occupying the country. Inthe libretto by Felice Romani a secret love unites Druidic Norma with Sever a Roman by whom she has borne two children. Sever had loved Adalgisa a Roman priestess before he knew Norma but has not seen her for some time. Whenhe meets her one day his love for her returns and they resolve to fly together. Norma curses Sever for his treachery and is about to kill her children but finally confides them to the care of her rival. She denounces Sever andhe is seized by the Druids. The funeral pyre is lighted and ascending it Norma dies with her lover.This is the Schirmer Edition of the Libretto with the text in the original Italian with an English translation byWilliam Weaver.
