Norma, a druid priestess, is torn between love for those she leads, and a secret passion for Pollione, the Roman enemy of her people. She bears him two children before discovering he has begun an affair with her younger acolyte, Adalgisa. From the entangled storylines of Norma, Pollione, and Adalgisa, to the underlying conflict between the Druids and the Romans, Norma is all about relationships. Join us as we introduce you to some helpful background information on this masterpiece, and give you an inside look at the complicated love triangle.

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History Behind the Story: Druids Vs. Romans

The Druids during the Iron Age were members of the educated, professional class among the Celtic peoples of Britain, Ireland, and Gaul (modern-day France). Druids included doctors, healers, poets, and most importantly, religious leaders. Unfortunately for us, the Druids believed firmly in oral traditions of passing along knowledge, and left the modern world with the task of piecing together their history through Greek and Roman writings. 

Norma takes place in Gaul around 50 BCE, shortly following the Gallic Wars (58-51 BCE), where Julius Caesar successfully annexed the tribal chiefdoms as part of the Roman Empire. Following this, the Druids first endured suppression from the Romans, followed by a total prohibition of their religious practices. To learn more about the Druids, click here. To learn more about Gaul under Roman rule, click here.

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The Love Triangle: A Timeline

This simplified timeline depicts the entanglement of Norma, Pollione, and Adalgisa that persists the entire length of the opera. Click here for a full synopsis of Norma. 

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Photo credit: Marco Berti as Pollione and Sondra Radvanovsky as Norma in Norma (San Francisco Opera, 2014), photo: Cory Weaver