Turandot at the Forbidden City of Beijing
- Episode aired Jun 9, 1999
- TV-G
- 2h 9m
IMDb RATING
8.1/10
153
YOUR RATING
Turandot at the Forbidden City is a 1998 live production of Puccini's opera Turandot directed by Zhang Yimou, with Zubin Mehta conducting the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino.Turandot at the Forbidden City is a 1998 live production of Puccini's opera Turandot directed by Zhang Yimou, with Zubin Mehta conducting the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino.Turandot at the Forbidden City is a 1998 live production of Puccini's opera Turandot directed by Zhang Yimou, with Zubin Mehta conducting the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino.
- Directors
- Writers
- Giuseppe Adami
- Renato Simoni
- Carlo Gozzi(uncredited)
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaPuccini died in 1924, while working on "Turandot"; he got as far as the scene in which a major character commits suicide to avoid cracking under torture, but Franco Alfano completed it, and most critics feel that Puccini would have handled the awkward moment in the ending far better than Alfano did. One of those who believed this was conductor Arturo Toscanini, a friend of Puccini's, who led the work's world premiere in 1926. Immediately after the suicide scene, he laid down his baton and with tears in his eyes, spoke to the audience for the only time in his life: "Here Maestro Puccini laid down his pen. Death was stronger than art". Toscanini then left the orchestra pit.
- ConnectionsReferenced in The Turandot Project (2000)
Featured review
Fantastic production values and a quite unique performance...
I have a big soft spot for Puccini's final opera Turandot. It mayn't be my favourite work of his, but again I adore Puccini so much, but having sung in the chorus for it it's bound to have left an impression on me. This performance is unique and quite wonderful, not perfect, and perhaps not my first choice(either the 1988 Met performance or the 1983 production with Marton and Ricciarelli), but the pros do outweigh the cons and it is worth looking out for overall.
Firstly, apart from too many shots of the chorus, who are a little static, this is fantastic visually. With gorgeous settings, a huge stage and oriental costumes- Liu's costume is perhaps too elaborate for a slave girl though- it certainly looks authentic, and the colours are so rich and beautiful to look at. The camera work and picture quality are generally very good, but the sound quality not so much, a little too thin at times. I did love the staging, especially the eye-catching Chinese traditional culture elements( Chinese martial art, dance, calligraphy, ancient costumes, Peking opera and drums), making it the most authentic and real Turandot I've seen.
Dramatically, it is also mostly convincing, with many moments of refinements. Liu's death scene is incredibly emotional and the Riddle scene evoked chills, but there are also one or two disappointments, with the final duet a little limp with Casolla and Larin lacking chemistry and Ping, Pong and Pang's trio is performed beautifully but sidelined by some weird character affectations. Also you can see them with a handkerchief, calabash and abacus, I liked that they used props but I was a little confused at the significance of those three items in particular. The chorus are vocally great, but apart from a genuinely awe-inspiring reaction to the moon are a little static, and a lot of this had to do with how they were situated on stage.
Musically, it is superb, Turandot is Puccini's most orchestrally rich score, and the orchestra play it so powerfully with many moments and beauty and while there are moments like at the start and a couple of spots in Act 2 where the tempos are a tad exaggerated, Zubin Mehta's conducting is very efficient and authoritative. When it comes to the performances, it was a case of the singing being better than the acting, but there is still much to like.
The two most consistent performances are Barbara Frittoli's Liu and Carlo Colombara's Timur. Frittoli is very poignant in this role, I often find that Liu is the one who steals the show and the character who I identify most with, here is no exception. Frittoli is heavenly vocally with superb pianissimo singing; her acting, which I can find mechanical, is involved and moving. Colombara is noble and firm, making me cry as he mourned Liu, and he is powerful and resonant vocally.
Giovanna Casolla is vocally thrilling as Turandot, one of the taxing soprano roles there is, and acts the riddle scene with a lot of fire. Sergej Larin sings wonderfully, with a competent(if lacking Corelli's intensity) Nessun Dorma, but his acting is rather stolid with facial expressions that I found off-putting. Ping, Pong and Pang are well matched and manage to put their all into what they've got.
All in all, unique and visually fantastic. A perfect performance? No. A worth watching performance? Absolutely yes. 8/10 Bethany Cox
Firstly, apart from too many shots of the chorus, who are a little static, this is fantastic visually. With gorgeous settings, a huge stage and oriental costumes- Liu's costume is perhaps too elaborate for a slave girl though- it certainly looks authentic, and the colours are so rich and beautiful to look at. The camera work and picture quality are generally very good, but the sound quality not so much, a little too thin at times. I did love the staging, especially the eye-catching Chinese traditional culture elements( Chinese martial art, dance, calligraphy, ancient costumes, Peking opera and drums), making it the most authentic and real Turandot I've seen.
Dramatically, it is also mostly convincing, with many moments of refinements. Liu's death scene is incredibly emotional and the Riddle scene evoked chills, but there are also one or two disappointments, with the final duet a little limp with Casolla and Larin lacking chemistry and Ping, Pong and Pang's trio is performed beautifully but sidelined by some weird character affectations. Also you can see them with a handkerchief, calabash and abacus, I liked that they used props but I was a little confused at the significance of those three items in particular. The chorus are vocally great, but apart from a genuinely awe-inspiring reaction to the moon are a little static, and a lot of this had to do with how they were situated on stage.
Musically, it is superb, Turandot is Puccini's most orchestrally rich score, and the orchestra play it so powerfully with many moments and beauty and while there are moments like at the start and a couple of spots in Act 2 where the tempos are a tad exaggerated, Zubin Mehta's conducting is very efficient and authoritative. When it comes to the performances, it was a case of the singing being better than the acting, but there is still much to like.
The two most consistent performances are Barbara Frittoli's Liu and Carlo Colombara's Timur. Frittoli is very poignant in this role, I often find that Liu is the one who steals the show and the character who I identify most with, here is no exception. Frittoli is heavenly vocally with superb pianissimo singing; her acting, which I can find mechanical, is involved and moving. Colombara is noble and firm, making me cry as he mourned Liu, and he is powerful and resonant vocally.
Giovanna Casolla is vocally thrilling as Turandot, one of the taxing soprano roles there is, and acts the riddle scene with a lot of fire. Sergej Larin sings wonderfully, with a competent(if lacking Corelli's intensity) Nessun Dorma, but his acting is rather stolid with facial expressions that I found off-putting. Ping, Pong and Pang are well matched and manage to put their all into what they've got.
All in all, unique and visually fantastic. A perfect performance? No. A worth watching performance? Absolutely yes. 8/10 Bethany Cox
helpful•20
- TheLittleSongbird
- Mar 28, 2012
Details
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content
Top Gap
What is the Spanish language plot outline for Turandot at the Forbidden City of Beijing (1999)?
Answer