It’s been a busy week for State Opera SA and the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra with four performances of La Cenerentola (Cinderella) and a one-night-only production of Norma, a tragedia lirica in two acts by Vincenzo Bellini to a libretto by Felice Romano.

Two of opera’s most popular stars, Helena Dix and Teddy Tahu Rhodes, crossed the divide, taking leading roles in both productions.

State Opera South Australia’s Norma. Photo © Andrew Beveridge

Of Bellini’s 10 completed operas, this is considered his masterwork and Norma is often regarded as the pinnacle of the bel canto repertoire, placing huge demands on the singers, especially the leading lady, musically and dramatically. This is one where opera buffs still debate the merits of Maria Callas over Joan Sutherland or the Spanish singer Montserrat Caballé in the titular role.

For this performance, it is soprano Helena Dix who commands the stage as Norma. Dix has sung this role before, at the prestigious Metropolitan Opera in New York a few years ago, and for the Melbourne Opera back in 2019, and that depth of understanding underlines a superb performance.

Helena Dix in State Opera South Australia’s Norma. Photo © Andrew Beveridge

Norma’s famous Casta Diva aria comes early in Act I and can reveal any slight nervousness in the singer. There is no such concern for Dix whose combination of confidence and control is impressive and shows a keen understanding of Bellini’s long phrases.

As a concert-style performance, with little in the way of staging, the singers must convey their emotional journey and narrative arc through the expressiveness in their voice and the smallest gestures. Dix does this superbly, fully engaging the audience with her humanity, her maginificent technique, and a clear sense of Norma’s inner turmoil.

Teddy Tahu Reeves, playing Norma’s father Oroveso, fills the auditorium with his anger and indignation. Rosario La Spina is superb as Pollione, Norma’s unfaithful lover, and Miriam Albano shines as Adalgisa, the ‘other woman’ in Pollione’s life. There is a lovely lyrical tenderness in Albano’s singing. Albano and Dix coming together in the duet, followed by the trio, is quite magical.

Teddy Tahu Rhodes in State Opera South Australia’s Norma. Photo © Andrew Beveridge

Relocated from the Druids and the Gauls of Ancient Rome to a distant colony in outer space, this production is born of a unique partnership between State Opera SA and Fleet Space Technologies, a global space company based in Adelaide.

Within this vision of opera in outer space, director Brock Roberts has created a theatrically assured production that balances operatic tradition with a brave new world. It is intriguing to see that Norma’s inherent bel canto elegance and undeniable weight of operatic history can blend so seamlessly with this bold theatrical imagination.

Oroveso is now a union leader, Pollione is a corporate commander, and the State Opera Chorus, dressed as workers, sings with precision and solid tonal weight. In keeping with the Space Fleet Technologies’ partnership, the stage is filled with projections of outer space and life on this distant colony. These give the performance a sense of scale and a feeling of other-worldliness that somehow complements the opera’s mythic themes of destiny, ritual and transcendence. If anything, they feel a little understated, perhaps a case of less is more.

The State Opera Chorus in State Opera South Australia’s Norma. Photo © Andrew Beveridge

The Adelaide Symphony Orchestra is under the baton of Brad Cohen, General Director of the New Zealand Opera. The orchestra highlights the martial elements in the score, with crashing cymbals and an almost combative sound. There could perhaps be a little more nuance and clarity in the colour of the score, but the strings are superb and the woodwind keenly elegant.

This cosmic collaboration by State Opera SA really shows that an ambitious and unexpected staging can be a success. It effectively combines superb singing with a strong emotional range and a bold theatrical production.

The performances of the principals and the chorus show a great assurance with moving dramatic intensity and polished vocal distinction. Norma is a clear highlight of SOSA’s special Golden Jubilee season and worthy of a longer run.

State Opera South Australia presented Norma for one night only, 15 May, 2026, at Her Majesty’s Theatre, Adelaide.