Film-operas require large investments, good voices and an audience that is fond of the art. Despite that, our compatriot, philosopher and stage director Boris Hayrapetyan believes that there will soon be a rise in the number of film-operas. A couple of years ago, he took the initiative and staged Vincenzo Belini’s “Norma” opera at the Opera theatre in Yerevan and then decided to film the movie version of it. He met one of the famous Norma opera singers Hasmik Papyan. Filming for “Norma” was a difficult process. “I didn’t even believe that I would finish filming,” said B. Hayrapetyan. While in Italy for the premiere of the film, when Boris was asked how much the budget was for the film, his friends advised him to state a price which was a little more than the original one. “They told me that if I don’t say a high price, then they won’t look at me seriously,” he said.
It is hard to stage the “Norma” opera since it is very static, one act is staged overnight, the actors need to get serious-especially when the drama reaches its climax. If the opera was staged with the language used in cinema, it could have failed; that is, if the author kept the pathos of the stage. Fortunately, nothing like that happened when filming “Norma”; the film mainly corresponded to the movie. “I preferred the opera more when choosing between the movie and the opera,” says B. Hayrapetyan. “Opera has become a synonym for brilliant and valuable art. I wanted to see certain actors in the film, try to understand their psychology. The most important is to suffer with the soldiers and nuns; the rest is just extra. During filming I felt the breath of ancient dramaturgy.” The film-opera was filmed in Armenia and was sponsored by the Russian Ministry of Culture and the Moscow “ABC” studio. According to the director, the natural scenes of Armenia perfectly portray ancient Gallia and provide the correct background for presenting the lifestyles of the Druids. Today, decorations make up opera. The protagonists live, love, suffer and die in the high mountains, dark caves and temples built out of rock. During the film festival in the city of Vyborg, “Norma” was shown under an open sky and the acts played on the big screen transformed into the continuity of nature. The Armenian highlands and the Garni temple are real; they have kept the traces of the ancient Romans who were moving along by invading lands. The protagonists sing about love, revenge, and nationalism looking up to the heavens. Nature has become the potential actor of the film. The rocks, waterfall and sounds of the wind have interwoven in the arias of the opera-keeping us focused on what is really going on in the opera. The chief nun of the Druids, Norma, as well as her people, has to make a choice; love and revenge are killing her inside. It is not always that good opera singers are good actors, however, for Boris Hayrapetyan, it was very important working with singers. He did not want to substitute Hasmik Papyan, Varduhi Khachatryan, Gegham Grigoryan and Michael Hovakimyan with professional actors. Boris reached success by showing the acting talent of opera singers. Nobody could play the role better than Hasmik Papyan; she doesn’t even fake it in the big scenes. She shows how one can die for love through her voice, mimics and gestures. Her duets with Adaljiza-Varduhi Khachatryan and Polion-Gegham Grigoryan are the most successful and impressive. Neither the song nor the play falters during the duets.
As you watch the film you realize that the film director had to set some limits; there are not too many people in the scenes where there should be and there are not too many costumes. However, people who watch this small budget film remember it for all time not only because of the beautiful music and good acting, but also because of the film through the eyes of the director. There are rarely any innovations made in opera, but the Armenian-Russian “Norma” was a good experiment which reminds us of the drama of love, betrayal and alternatives of today; after all, human sufferings can be understood during any period of time.