Finally, the choice of the interpreter of the title role is a great honor for Lebanon: Joyce El-Khoury, a Lebanese-Canadian soprano who plays this role for the first time. This outstanding artist has just triumphed in Carmen at the Oper im Steinbruch Festival in Austria in July and August, and in May in Montreal in Puccini's Madama Butterfly. Norma's role is one of the most demanding in the repertoire. The legendary German singer Lili Lehmann (1848-1929) said: "It is easier for me to sing the three Brünnhilde (Ring of the Niebelungen, Wagner) than to sing Norma. This role requires a soprano able to master the colorature of the open air Casta diva in the first act and, also, to communicate the pathos of the second act. Joyce El-Khoury not only mastered the enormous vocal demands of the role, but also managed to express the range of emotions of the heroine: maternal love in "sleepono entrambi...i miei figli" which precedes the duo of the second act "Mira, o Norma" with Adalgisa, the rage of a jealous lover, and also, friendship in this same duo. Then, in his duet with Pollione, the lover's anger rejected: "in mia man, alfin tu sei" and a noble soul in their final duo "moraiamo insieme". – L'Orient-Le Jour
Joyce El-Khoury, is the best and most convincing Norma I've seen in the last two decades. Fine stage presence, a voice with wonderful timbre and nuances, finesse in terms of dynamic cues - exquisite pianissimo - and remarkable technical mastery. – Η Καθημερινή
This demanding role requires a soprano with a firm coloratura and the dramatic intensity capable of expressing emotions ranging from tenderness, friendship, maternal love, jealousy, rage, self‑pity to despair. Lebanese-Canadian Joyce El‑Khoury, whose first Norma this is, triumphed on all fronts. The range of this lyric soprano is impressive. She had no difficulty with the coloratura of the Act I 'Casta Diva' – Concertonet.com
Joyce El-Khoury is an impressive Norma. In the famous 'Casta Diva' aria she shows the great qualities of her voice, an exemplary pianissimo, a beautiful tone with a dramatic core and cleanly executed ornamentation. Joyce El-Khoury delivers a fabulous role debut...she was quite rightly cheered the loudest. – Onlinemerker.com
