Emotion and Temporality: 'Casta Diva' in Film Soundtracks, 1980-2011

The reception of “Casta Diva”, the cantabile of Norma’s cavatina, outside the situations where the public can be expected to associate it with Bellini’s opera, such as theatrical performances and recordings, is a somewhat paradoxical phenomenon. On the one hand, “Casta Diva” tends to leave its original context behind: this process is often so radical that what is lost are not only the formal and dramatic functions of this piece in Norma, but also the meaning of the verbal text, with many listeners ignoring that it contains a prayer to the moon. On the other hand, “Casta Diva” is a fragment so powerfully emblematic not only of Bellini’s oeuvre, but also of Italian opera at large, to be able to evoke the latter immediately in whatever context it appears, including films that have no other connection with opera, even, indeed especially, when these films are not Italian. At the same time, Bellini’s cinematic reception over the last few decades is almost exclusively limited to this iconic melody. This chapter discusses the presence of “Casta Diva” in five non-Italian films released between 1980 and 2011: Nikita Michalkov’s Oblomov (USSR, 1980), Norman René’s Longtime Companion (USA, 1989), Clint Eastwood’s The Bridges of Madison County (USA, 1995), Wong Kar-wai’s 2046 (Hong Kong, 2004) and Phyllida Lloyd’s The Iron Lady (United Kingdom, 2011). My working hypothesis is that this famous piece can play a crucial role in the filmic dramaturgy by recalling opera as an aesthetic experience that, although clearly “other” and from a past perceived as remote, is still able to emerge as a unique device for the expression and incarnation of passions. In these films, however, “Casta Diva” does not only supply a certain emotional mood; it also performs a crucial function as a device for the control of filmic temporality, at times even inviting a reflection on this very temporality.