Betsy Norden is a sweetly effervescent Handel soprano

THE SONGBIRD: Soprano Betsy Norden, born in Cincinnati in 1945, appeared with the Metropolitan Opera over 500 times. Norden studied at Boston University. She joined the Met chorus in 1969, and sang her first solo role there in 1972: the Peasant Girl in "Marriage of Figaro." She went on to sing 39 different roles at the Met including Despina, Zerlina, Oscar, Musetta, Liu, Sophie in “Werther,” Gretel, and Constance in "Dialogues des Carmélites," as well as numerous secondary roles. Her final appearances at the Metropolitan were in the 1992 world-premiere production of "The Ghosts of Versailles." Norden has been a concert soloist and appeared with American opera companies, including Philadelphia and San Francisco.

THE MUSIC: "Amadigi di Gaula" is one of Handel's magical operas, premiering successfully in London at the King's Theatre in the Haymarket in 1715. The small cast of five includes three sopranos and two altos (one of which was written for a castrato). The plot centers around the attempts of the sorceress Melissa to win over Amadigi, who is in love with the princess Orianna. She uses spells and deceptions galore, but fails in the end and kills herself in despair. Melissa summons the furies of hell to assist her in the aria "Desterò dall'empia Dite" that closes Act Two. With its dazzling trumpet obbligato (Handel's only operatic aria scored for soprano and trumpets), it is one of his most brilliant vocal pieces.