Woah... you had my mind going down an entirely different track before I realizing the thread was obviously about opera. For what it's worth I'll still get it off my chest and say that my favorite proconsul is Festus, author of Breviarium rerum gestarum populi Romani. But now that I'm done with that ridiculous tangent I have to say that Del Monaco is exceedingly masculine, and there is a largesse to his voice as well as his manner. Perfect for the role.

 

Who do you think has the charisma to pull it off? And of course who do you think sings it best? For me the choice is easy. It has to be Mario Del Monaco. He was so great with Callas on the 1955 La Scala performance of Norma. He might be a bit short in stature, nothing some platform shoes wont fix But the voice really fits the part and he has enough charisma to portray even the Roman emperor. So proconsul is a piece of cake for him. My second favorite is Corelli.

The subtitle to this boxset sums it up nicely.......

So easy back in 1950-60 to take for granted all the great tenors, especially those with a forte style like Del Monaco and Corelli, there is really nothing like them today.....

When new Normas are "attempted" today of course there are no assoluta or dramatic sopranos that can do the part justice (even worse singers like Bartoli even attempting the role) but really the weakest link is usually Pollione especially when comparisons make to singers like MDM, who exudes the confidence and bravura today needed for the Roman consul to spar vocally with Norma.......

 

So easy back in 1950-60 to take for granted all the great tenors, especially those with a forte style like Del Monaco and Corelli, there is really nothing like them today.....

I'n my opinion it is the same with every type. Baritones, basses, sopranos and mezzos and so on. What I wouldn't give to have been able to see singers from the 50-60 live. I mean where is there a lyric tenor the caliber of Di Stefano? Mostly we are missing good dramatic tenors. Now we have mostly lyrical tenors singing dramatic parts. I agree that we have no Normas today.

Of course I like modern singers too. It's just that most are nowhere as good as earlier singers. I am just so happy that there are so many great recordings live or studio from really great singers.

 

Pollione was a pretty weak, overlooked proconsul until the right tenors came along to make Bellini's wonderful music for this part come alive (even beyond what Bellini probably imagined). The whole Svanir le voci ... Meco all'altar di Venere ... Me protegge, me difende recitativo and aria of Pollione can be so exciting when sung by the likes of Mario del Monaco and Corelli. Their dark, masculine voices, strong stage personality and greco-roman godlike looks made them the perfect Polliones. I can't decide between Corelli's 1953 live version in Trieste and Del Monaco's 1955 Scala performance, depends on which side of the bed I get out in the morning.

Three other tenors who deserve to be mentioned for the historical merit of saving the proconsul from falling into oblivion of opera characters and paving the way for Del Monaco/Corelli are Francesco Merli, Mario Filippeschi and Giacomo Lauri-Volpi.

 

Bellini would have been certainly shocked listening to Del Monaco singing the role!.

His preferred tenor, Giovanni Battista Rubini, creator of Arturo or Elvino, was not available for the premiere of "Norma" at La Scala, in 1831, and he had to deal with Domenico Donzelli, a more limited in coloratura performer and the owner of baritonal-like voice, that was singing in full voice up to the high G, and then, using 'falsettone' was able to sing up to a high C (sometimes; in Meco all'altar di Venere, Bellini tried to use the capabilities of Donzelli, but he marked the high C as optional, nevertheless ).

Bellini had in mind to rewrite the score for Rubini eventually, but he died before he could do that (incidentally, Rubini sang nevertheless the role with Bellini already dead, at Paris's Théâtre des Italiens, and with great success).

In my view, it's a misread to think of Pollione as a strong, virile character. He is not that, either in the plot, or in the score. He is not Julius Caesar conquering the Gauls, he is just a provincial governor having an affair with two local ladies, and soon to be replaced by a 'più temuto e fiero latino condottiero'.

Looking at the music written by Bellini, the only real "heroic" part is the cabaletta Me protegge, me difende when Pollione is promising to defeat and punish the Gauls... a totally vain threat, as we can see later; instead of conquering the Gauls, they are capturing him marauding alone, and he submits weekly to them, and later to Norma, going to the bonfire by her hand. In the meanwhile, he had a lovely duet with Adalgisa, that is anything but "heroic", and must be sung accordingly.

Singing this character thinking that he is Julius Caesar (or, one could think sometimes, Attila) is not the best way to portray the role that Bellini wrote.

My favorite Pollione on record is Carlo Bergonzi. His voice was certainly close to what we know about Donzelli's, but, more importantly, he was reading the score and the character.

p.d.: Good choice about Festus, anyway.

 

Bellini would have been certainly shocked listening to Del Monaco singing the role!.

Another interesting observation by Schigolch.......

We really don't know much about Pollione outside of his interactions with Norma and Adalgisa, and other than his opening aria sequence where he threatens to rattle a few cages he seems not too threatening......

The office of consul / proconsul was very powerful in the Roman system with powers as provincial governor and military command of legions in his area, most likely a former military leader......hard to imagine someone reaching that rank who is not powerful and "heroic" in some form

Amazing how men seem to lose all power in the presence of a women they love, so ultimate advantage to Adalgisa (and Norma in the end)

 

FRANCO CORELLI! sounds glorious, looks fabulous, and sings like a god.

Though I like MdM, too.

 

FRANCO CORELLI! sounds glorious, looks fabulous, and sings like a god.

View attachment 70465

Though I like MdM, too.

Ditto. Corelli my fave, MdM a close second for me.

N.

 

I feel that John Alexander, the Pollione of the first Joan Sutherland NORMA recording, is underrated. Here he is in a later Met broadcast with Sutherland:

 

I feel that John Alexander, the Pollione of the first Joan Sutherland NORMA recording, is underrated.

I agree, Alexander was a totally underrated singer. A solid, musical singer, his lack of star power was detrimental to his becoming more famous.

 

I originally misunderstood the question and was going to answer Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus.

 

Let's look at how different tenors handle the feared C4 in Pollione's cavatina, in the repetition of "sensi":

Meco all'altar di Venere
era Adalgisa in Roma,
cinta di bende candide,
sparsa di fior la chioma;
udia d'Imene i cantici,
vedea fumar gl'incensi,
eran rapiti i sensi
di voluttade e amor

Mario Filippeschi is singing the C4 in "sensi":

Gianni Raimondi just forgets about the C4:

while Lauri-Volpi produces the C4 in "voluttade", because it' easier than giving the high note on the "i".

Bellini himself approved all these alternatives.

Lauri-Volpi sang Pollione for the first time in 1927, at Teatro Colón, in Buenos Aires. The rest of the cast: Claudia Muzio, Ebe Stignani and Tancredi Pasero. How I'd love to get a recording!. Of course Muzio's voice was not suitable at all for Norma. Perhaps it was even less suitable than Stignani's, , but I'd love it anyway.

Of the different tenors singing the role today, my favorite is Gregory Kunde. The timbre is far from charming, but I do like the stylistic approach. He also sings the high C: