Vincenzo Bellini's "Norma" (1831), revived by the Metropolitan Opera for the first time since the 2001-2002 season, is my favorite opera. The "Norma" I heard on November 30 was not, by a long stretch, my favorite performance of it. But Dolora Zajick did as much as she could, in her seconda donna assignment as Adalgisa, to salvage what was, by and large, a dismal evening.

As, essentially, the ingénue, Adalgisa has entirely different requirements from the powerhouse Verdi roles in which mezzo-soprano Zajick has made her name in New York. Zajick brought lyricism and vulnerability to the young priestess' reflective entrance recitative, "Sgombra è la sacra selva," and it was a pleasure to hear her place and swell on the quiet top notes and shine in the coloratura duets.

The Met has presented three sopranos hailing from the former Soviet Union and new here to the opera's demanding eponymous part of high priestess to the Druids. Hasmik Papian and Maria Guleghina sang Norma earlier in the run of eight hearings, which began on November 12. On the night considered in this précis, Guleghina was taken ill and Marina Mescheriakova replaced her late enough that Guleghina was still listed in the program, but soon enough for inserts announcing the substitution to be printed.

More lyric than dramatic soprano, Mescheriakova has had some success singing leading Verdi spinto and even florid parts since her Met debut a decade ago, but none seem to have prepared her for this pinnacle of bel canto. She presented a commanding appearance at her entrance for "Sediziose voci" and her timbre impressed as darker than I remembered it to have been. She held back, almost to the point of inaudibility, as she began the glorious invocation to the goddess, "Casta Diva," which followed, but sounded pressed by the high coloratura climaxes of its verses and by the cabaletta, "Ah! bello a me ritorna." As she continued, with the duets and trio, Mescheriakova's top notes continued to miss their mark and Zajick took the lead in giving focus to their all-important duets, "Oh! rimembranza!" and "Deh! con te, con te li prendi ... Mira, o Norma." The soprano interpolated something like high D at the end of Act One. She seemed to be on a somewhat more even keel in Act Two, but by then the damage was done. Should I have been more charitable in considering her effort as the cover, whose presence permitted the curtain to rise? Mescheriakova is an experienced singer, who made the decision to undertake this assignment. Whatever made her think Norma would be a good role for her?

Tenor Franco Farina, as the Roman proconsul, Pollione, sang his scena, "Svanir le voci! ... Meco all'altar di Venere ... Me protegge, me difende," lyrically enough and, perhaps inspired by Zajick, floated some ingratiating quiet top tones in their duet at the end of the first scene. Hao Jiang Tian made a fierce Oroveso, Druid leader and Norma's father, and brought needed sonority to his high bass line. Soprano Julianna Di Giacomo, who takes the soprano lead in Verdi's "I Due Foscari" on December 13 to open Eve Queler's Opera Orchestra of New York's season at Carnegie Hall, and tenor Eduardo Valdes, assumed the supporting parts of Clothilde and Flavio with distinction. Conductor Maurizio Benini rushed through the "Guerra, Guerra!" chorus, the Druids' battle cry, as if trying to get through this whole affair as quickly as possible.

Remaining hearings of "Norma" are on December 4 and 7 at 8 pm. Tickets from $15 to 320 are available at the Met box office at Lincoln Center, by telephoning 212/362-6000, or by visiting www.metopera.org.