The second act opens in Norma’s dwelling, and discovers her children asleep on a couch.  Norma enters with the purpose of killing them, but the maternal instinct overcomes her vengeful thought that they are Pollione’s children.  Adalgisa appears, and Norma announces her intention to place her children in the Virgin’s hands, and send her and them to Pollione while she expiates her offence on the funeral pyre.  Adalgisa pleads with her not to abandon Pollione, who will return to her repentant; and the most effective number in the opera ensues,—­the grand duet containing two of Bellini’s most beautiful inspirations, the “Deh! con te li prendi,” and the familiar “Mira, O Norma,” whose strains have gone round the world and awakened universal delight.  Pollione, maddened by his passion for Adalgisa, impiously attempts to tear her from the altar in the temple of Irminsul, whereupon Norma enters the temple and strikes the sacred shield, summoning the Druids.  They meet, and she declares the meaning of the signal is war, slaughter, and destruction.  She chants a magnificent hymn ("Guerra, guerra"), which is full of the very fury of battle.  Pollione, who has been intercepted in the temple, is brought before her.  Love is still stronger than resentment with her.  In a very dramatic scena ("In mia mano alfin tu sei”) she informs him he is in her power, but she will let him escape if he will renounce Adalgisa and leave the country.  He declares death would be preferable; whereupon she threatens to denounce Adalgisa.  Pity overcomes anger, however.  She snatches the sacred wreath from her brow and declares herself the guilty one.  Too late Pollione discovers the worth of the woman he has abandoned, and a beautiful duet ("Qual cor tradisti”) forms the closing number.  She ascends the funeral pyre with Pollione, and in its flames they are purged of earthly crime.  It is a memorable fact in the history of this opera, that on its first performance it was coldly received, and the Italian critics declared it had no vitality; though no opera was ever written in which such intense dramatic effect has been produced with simple melodic force, and no Italian opera score to-day is more living or more likely to last than that of Norma.

LA SONNAMBULA.

“La Sonnambula,” an opera in two acts, words by Romani, was first produced in Milan, March 6, 1831, with the following cast:—­

AMINA        Mme. PASTA. 
ELVINO       Sig.  RUBINI. 
RODOLFO      Sig.  MARIANO. 
LISA         Mme. TOCCANI.

It was brought out in the same year in Paris and London, and two years after in English, with Malibran as Amina.  The subject of the story was taken from a vaudeville and ballet by Scribe.  The scene is laid in Switzerland.  Amina, an orphan, the ward of Teresa, the miller’s wife, is about to marry Elvino, a well-to-do landholder of the village.  Lisa, mistress of the inn, is also in love with Elvino, and jealous of her rival.