Turandot is an opera I really have a fondness for, ever since singing in the chorus for it five years ago. I do prefer Tosca and La Boheme as far as Puccini operas go, but the music here is so rich and powerful and the story and characters so compelling it is understandable why it's still left such an impression on me. This Turandot is not for everybody, however while I prefer the 1987/8, 1983, 2009, 1994 and 1958 productions it is still interesting and worth a look.
One point of interest is the ending. Instead of the usual ending provided by Franco Alfano(Turandot was unfinished at Puccini's death), we get an ending from Luciano Berio. Which do I prefer? Well seeing as it is the ending that I am more familiar with I'm initially inclined to say Alfano's, mainly because whereas the opera in Alfano's version ends with a bang and Berio's on a whimper in comparison, I feel. In both versions the music is great but Alfano's is a little closer to Puccini's style. However, Turandot's change from an ice princess to a more human character is much more believable and sincere in Berio's than Alfano's.
Are there some outstanding things about this production? Yes. And all of it is musically. The music is absolutely wonderful from beginning to end, and perhaps Puccini's most orchestrally rich score. The orchestra play with a phenomenal sound, gritty and powerful at the start of Act 1 and intense during the Enigma Scene yet prove to be sensitive accompanists for Signore Ascolta/Non Piangere Liu and to be able to play with pathos for Liu's music in Act 3. The chorus are a big number, and their thrilling singing especially in their big opening chorus promises just as much. This isn't possible without Valery Gergiev, whose authority and musicianship makes for an electrifying reading.
Visually, it is interesting if not entirely succeeding. It is colourful enough with an atmospheric colour palette for the costumes, if not as imperial or as oriental as one looking for a traditional performance would want. In regards to the staging, the second and third acts are much better than the first act. Act 1 has everybody in robotic fashion and even one of the masks looking as though he is channelling Peter Lorre, it was almost as if the stage director was paying homage to something like Fritz Lang's masterpiece Metropolis. Interesting idea in hindsight, except that I didn't think this worked for the "Grind and Sharpen" chorus, that chorus is incredibly hard and gets increasingly intense, and I think that approach to the staging took away from the intensity.
However, Acts 2 and 3 fare much better. Liu's big moment(s) in Act 3 are just heart-wrenching, likewise with Timur's mourning of her. But it was the riddle-solving scene that fared best of all. Having Turandot 9 metres high in a giant human head which comes down on stage level when Calaf reveals his answer to the third riddle was a piece of staging that I have never seen done, and I thought it worked really well.
Generally the singing was mixed, the best being Christina Gollardo-Domas as Liu. There may be those in want of a more innocent-sounding voice, but I do know from her Mimi and Amelia(Simon Boccanegra) that Gollardo-Domas is very good at being affecting, especially those eyes. The whole performance is incredibly moving and deeply felt, her best moment being Tu Che Del Gel Sei Cinta. Robert Tear is very good in Act 2 as the Emperor, and Paata Burchuladze is a firm and poignant Timur particularly when he mourns Liu. The voice is a little worn compared to the dark singing he had as Ramfis, Basilio, Mephistopheles and Dosifei, but considering the character this works; his vowel singing can disappoint however, with his "o"s sounding like Russian-like "or"s.
Worst of the bunch is Johann Botha's Calaf. I am not sure whether it was the venue/acoustics, whether it was a role too heavy for him or whether that he was inexperienced, whatever reason apart from a decent high C in the Enigma scene it is Botha does seem very underpowered in this role. Non Piangere Liu could have been much more nuanced, and Nessun Dorma is not thrilling at all, instead it sounds strained. Dramatically he is very stolid and stiff, and he doesn't even look like a hero here, more like the male equivalent of Jane Eaglen in Tristan Und Isolde. Gabriele Schanut makes for a very chilling Turandot with very vivid facial expressions and gestures. Her singing is not as good, sure it is big, sometimes thrilling, but it also can get squally with a wobble that is reminiscent of a late-career Eva Marton.
Ping, Pong and Pang are well-characterised but their singing(with Ping woolly, Pong laboured and Pang the best of the three but sometimes pushed) plays second-fiddle to their acting and their chemistry. Overall, not great and will leave some people disgusted, but thanks to Gergiev, the orchestra, an interesting alternate ending and Gollardo-Domas' winning Liu it is worth seeing. 6.5/10 Bethany Cox
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