Norma

Norma was written for La Scala and first given there on 26 December 1831, with Giuditta Pasta in the title role. Felice Romani's libretto derives from Alexandre Soumet's tragedy, staged in Paris earlier that year. The opening night went badly — Bellini called it a fiasco in a letter written the same night — but the run recovered and the opera spread quickly across Europe. Casta diva, the priestess's invocation to the moon, was rewritten repeatedly before Bellini was satisfied, and Pasta at first refused to sing it. The role has since defined a category of soprano.