Comparing the Themes of Vincenzio Bellini’s Norma and Euripedes Medea

Comparing the Themes of Vincenzio Bellinis Norma and Euripedes Medea Vincenzio Bellinis opera Norma is considered by m each to be a reworking of Euripedes classic Greek tragedy Medea. Both plots have many identical elements of Greek tragedy such as a chorus, unity of location, and a valet de chambre decision and action culminating in tragedy. Richard Wagner greatly admired Greek tragedies, believing them to be The highest point ever reached in human creative achievement (Wagner 1). In his essay Theories of Art, Wagner gives five reasons for this artistic perfection 1. It represented a successful combination of the arts-- poetry, drama, costumes, mime, music, dance and song-- and as such had greater scope and expressive powers than any of the arts alone. 2. It took its subject matter from myth, which illuminates the human experience in universal terms. (The myth is true for all times. (Wagner 2)) 3. Both the content and the occasion of performance had spectral significance. 4. It w as a religion of humanism and a celebration of life, even in death. 5. The entire community took part. Medea also deals heavily with the themes of female jealousy, its capabilities, and infanticide, as does Norma. Norma exhibits not only the embodiment of these themes, but also exhibits Wagners theories of effectiveness of Greek tragedy, therefore qualifying Bellinis opera to be as effective in limning the classic ideals of Greek tragedy as its counterpart, Medea. Wagner believed that as time went on, Greek art slowly disintegrated, each individual art going a crystalise way, developing aloneinstrumentals without words, poetry without music, drama without either, etc. He believed it further disintegrated with the introduction of Christiani... ...s Medea Trans. Rex Warner. The Harcourt Brace Anthology of Drama Third Edition. Orlando Harcourt, 2000. Georgousi, Fotini Tragic Women Plotting and Transgressing Minnesota University Press 2001. McIver, Barbara Basore, B.A., M.A. reaso ned Girls, Bad Girls and Heroines Models from Myth University of Akansas Press 1968. Plunka, Gene A. Ed. Antonin Artaud and the Modern Theater New Jersey Associated UP, 1994. Romani, Felice Norma (libretto) trans. Olcese, Stefano, 2000. Romani, Frederico Alexandre Soumet and his Three Muses Minnesota Opera Pubs. 2003. Schumacher, Claude and Brian Singleton. Eds. Artaud on Theatre London Methuen, 1989. Sferro, Nuccio Norma Libretto Notes Stanford University Press, 2000. Wagner, Richard Bellini A Word in Season trans. William Ashton Ellis Wagners Prose Works Vol. 8 pp. 67-69, 1899.