Norma – Escape to Exile V – Gstaad Festival Orchestra III ID:
Opera in concert version
Friday, 22. August 2025
7:30 p.m., Gstaad Festival Tent
It has become a cherished summer tradition in Gstaad: the lyrical concert highlight where world-class voices join forces with the Gstaad Festival Orchestra. After its premiere in the Swiss Alps, the “cast” takes to the international stage as a cultural ambassador. Following I Puritani in 2021, this year’s spotlight once again falls on Vincenzo Bellini, the master of romantic Italian opera and bel canto, with a performance of his Norma conducted by Domingo Hindoyan. Leading the cast of stellar soloists is Sonya Yoncheva, who captivated audiences as Tosca at the 2023 Festival. Among the unforgettable moments, her rendition of the iconic “Casta Diva” aria promises to send shivers down spines. A musical feast celebrating love and passion!
My concert visit
Arrival by public transport
Our tips: Use our festival bus, which will take you directly to the Festival Tent from two directions: Further information can be found here.
Benefit from a 20% discount on your public transportation journey: Details can be found here.
Arriving by private car
However, there are several parking lots available in the surrounding area, just a few minutes' walk from the Festival Tent.
Our tip: Use the parking lot at the Talstation Wispile and take the free shuttle service from there, which will take you comfortably to the entrance of the venue. From Saanen, please follow the signs with the Park + Ride symbol. Overview of parking options
{'artists': [{'awards': [],
'instruments': ['Soprano (Norma)'],
'name': 'Sonya Yoncheva',
'sort': 0},
{'awards': [],
'instruments': ['Bass (Oroveso)'],
'name': 'Alexander Vinogradov',
'sort': 1},
{'awards': [],
'instruments': ['Tenor (Pollione)'],
'name': 'Stefan Pop',
'sort': 2},
{'awards': [],
'instruments': ['Tenor (Flavio)'],
'name': 'Marin Yonchev',
'sort': 3},
{'awards': [],
'instruments': ['Mezzo-Soprano (Adalgisa)'],
'name': 'Karine Deshayes',
'sort': 4},
{'awards': [],
'instruments': ['Soprano (Clotilde)'],
'name': 'Kristine Klein',
'sort': 5},
{'awards': [],
'instruments': [],
'name': 'Chor der Bühnen Bern',
'sort': 6},
{'awards': [],
'instruments': [],
'name': 'Gstaad Festival Orchestra',
'sort': 7},
{'awards': [],
'instruments': ['Conductor'],
'name': 'Domingo Hindoyan',
'sort': 8}],
'bus_transfer': {'available': True,
'description': 'Sustainable to the festival: Our bus service '
'is at your disposal from Wangen an der Aare, '
'Bern and Lausanne for this concert.<br />\r\n'
' ',
'url': 'https://www.car-rouge.ch/reise/gstaad-menuhin-festival-academy-2/'},
'description': '<p>It has become a cherished summer tradition in Gstaad: the '
'lyrical concert highlight where world-class voices join '
'forces with the Gstaad Festival Orchestra. After its premiere '
'in the Swiss Alps, the “cast” takes to the '
'international stage as a cultural ambassador. Following I '
'Puritani in 2021, this year’s spotlight once again '
'falls on Vincenzo Bellini, the master of romantic Italian '
'opera and bel canto, with a performance of his Norma '
'conducted by Domingo Hindoyan. Leading the cast of stellar '
'soloists is Sonya Yoncheva, who captivated audiences as Tosca '
'at the 2023 Festival. Among the unforgettable moments, her '
'rendition of the iconic “Casta Diva” aria '
'promises to send shivers down spines. A musical feast '
'celebrating love and passion!</p>',
'event_id': 8110,
'has_any_future_events': False,
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'hero_images': [{'alt': 'Sonya Yoncheva © Victor Santiago',
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'hints': 'CHF 235/170/145/100/70',
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'<details class="folding"><summary class="folding__less"> Arrival by '
'public transport </summary>\r\n'
'<div class="hinweisBody folding__more">We recommend that you plan '
'your journey to Gstaad train station. From there, it is around a '
'15-minute walk to the Festival Tent. Alternatively, the '
'«Gstaad, Sportzentrum» post bus stop is located '
'directly at the venue. Please take note of each concert’s '
'duration to plan your return journey by public transport '
'accordingly.<br />\r\n'
'Our tips: Use our festival bus, which will take you directly to the '
'Festival Tent from two directions: <a '
'href="https://www.gstaadmenuhinfestival.ch/en/service/your-visit/bus-service"> '
'Further information can be found here.</a><br />\r\n'
'Benefit from a 20% discount on your public transportation journey: '
'<a '
'href="https://www.gstaadmenuhinfestival.ch/en/service/your-visit/sbb-public-transport-ticket"> '
'Details can be found here.</a></div>\r\n'
'</details>\r\n'
'\r\n'
'<details class="folding"><summary class="folding__less"> Arriving '
'by private car </summary>\r\n'
'\r\n'
'<div class="hinweisBody folding__more">If you are arriving by car, '
'please note that it is not possible to drive directly to the '
'venue.<br />\r\n'
'However, there are several parking lots available in the '
'surrounding area, just a few minutes' walk from the Festival '
'Tent.<br />\r\n'
'Our tip: Use the parking lot at the Talstation Wispile and take the '
'free shuttle service from there, which will take you comfortably to '
'the entrance of the venue. From Saanen, please follow the signs '
'with the Park + Ride symbol. <a '
'href="https://www.gstaadmenuhinfestival.ch/en/service/your-visit/navigation-and-parking">Overview '
'of parking options </a></div>\r\n'
'</details>\r\n'
'</div>',
'main_location': 'Gstaad Festival Tent',
'main_start_date': datetime.datetime(2025, 8, 22, 19, 30, tzinfo=datetime.timezone(datetime.timedelta(seconds=7200))),
'over_title': 'Sonya Yoncheva',
'overview_image': {'alt': 'Sonya Yoncheva © Victor Santiago',
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'title': 'Victor Santiago',
'url': '/_cmsbox_backends_/gmf/images/500x375/fe80023485df7f8cfaca831ead5cba05.jpeg'},
'overview_image_src_set': {'alt': 'Sonya Yoncheva © Victor Santiago',
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'programs': ['<table class="program442hz">\r\n'
'\t<tbody>\r\n'
'\t\t<tr class="rowComposer">\r\n'
'\t\t\t<td colspan="2"><strong>Vincenzo Bellini</strong> '
'(1801–1835)</td>\r\n'
'\t\t</tr>\r\n'
'\t\t<tr class="rowWork">\r\n'
'\t\t\t<td>“Norma”, opera in 2 acts</td>\r\n'
'\t\t\t<td style="text-align:right;"> </td>\r\n'
'\t\t</tr>\r\n'
'\t\t<tr class="rowTotal">\r\n'
'\t\t\t<td> </td>\r\n'
'\t\t\t<td style="text-align:right;"><strong>180' '
'</strong>(interval included)</td>\r\n'
'\t\t</tr>\r\n'
'\t</tbody>\r\n'
'</table>'],
'room': '',
'sponsor_info': '<img alt="Support Logo" '
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'start_time_location': [{'location': 'Gstaad Festival Tent',
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'ticket_links': [{'is_future_event': False,
'sale_started': True,
'start_time': datetime.datetime(2025, 8, 22, 19, 30, tzinfo=datetime.timezone(datetime.timedelta(seconds=7200))),
'url': 'https://shop.menuhin.ch/en/event/155473/'}],
'title': 'Norma – Escape to Exile V – Gstaad Festival Orchestra III',
'title2': 'Opera in concert version',
'topics': []}
Sonya Yoncheva, Soprano (Norma)
Alexander Vinogradov, Bass (Oroveso)
Stefan Pop, Tenor (Pollione)
Marin Yonchev, Tenor (Flavio)
Karine Deshayes, Mezzo-Soprano (Adalgisa)
Kristine Klein, Soprano (Clotilde)
Chor der Bühnen Bern
Gstaad Festival Orchestra
Domingo Hindoyan, Conductor
| Vincenzo Bellini (1801–1835) | |
| “Norma”, opera in 2 acts | |
| 180' (interval included) | |