Or, Turandot, as it is better known.
I've just returned from the second performance of this - a semi-staged production at Leeds Town Hall, conducted by Richard Armstrong, covering for the permanently indisposed Aleksander Markovic. I'd not been greatly looking forward to this, having recently reminded myself of the Music from the Callas recording; a nasty little story with a lot of cheap Music had been my reaction. Well, Act Three is still a dog's dinner: I'm not into depictions of torture - even when stylised as here - and the "conversion" of Turandot after Calaf kisses her (shades of James Bond and Pussy Galore) is utterly naff, and following Liu's torture and suicide it's obscene; and not all of the worst Music here is by Alfano.
But The first two acts (played without an Interval) were a greatly pleasant surprise. Yes, far too many pentatonicisms, and the xylophonist does deserve credit with the singers - but performed as directed by this conductor, there were moments of subtlety and power that can only be experienced in concert. The tuned gongs were a surprise, and it was worth paying the ticket price just to see a Cimbasso in the flesh - looking like the offspring from a one-night stand between a Bass Trombone and a towel heater, it looked and sounded quite splendid. The orchestra was its usual superb self, as were the two choruses (adults and children).
Ping, Pang, and Pong were more than the racist stereotypes suggested on CD - some genuinely touching and human moments alongside the clownery (but their material in Act Two still goes on far too long) - which made their sudden transformation into Liu's torrturers all the more nauseating - and all three genuinely sang their parts with respect and Musicianship. Rafael Rojas was in very good voice (not particularloy strong to begin with - his very first entry was overwhelmed by the chorus and orchestra, and he "coloured" rather than challenged Turandot's voice in the "anything you can sing, I can sing louder" ending of In Questa Reggia - but he was fine elsewhere, and by far the best thing in Act Three was his "you've been waiting all night for this" Aria. Turandot defeated Callas (in her recording, she is magnificent in the notes she gets in tune, but there is a lot of mistuned wobbling) - Orla Boylan was more secure and less thrilling: a powerful voice, but with quite an acidic edge to it (which is perfectly in character) and a very pronounced wobble (which isn't - she sounded as if she was rather nervous at the start of In Questa Reggia). Sunyoung Seo's Liu provided the finest solo singing of the production: given this thankless, mawkish role, she managed to convince this cynical old git that there is much to admire in her Music; it was quite, quite beautiful.
The Town Hall (capacity 1550) was full - I couldn't see any "free" seats at all, nor could a friend upstairs in the "rattle your jewellery" seats; and an even spread of age ranges. Cheers of approval at the end of each act - I had a great time before the interval; far better than I was expecting, and I can well imagine that anyone who likes this work more than I do would have been bowled over by the experience.
I've just returned from the second performance of this - a semi-staged production at Leeds Town Hall, conducted by Richard Armstrong, covering for the permanently indisposed Aleksander Markovic. I'd not been greatly looking forward to this, having recently reminded myself of the Music from the Callas recording; a nasty little story with a lot of cheap Music had been my reaction. Well, Act Three is still a dog's dinner: I'm not into depictions of torture - even when stylised as here - and the "conversion" of Turandot after Calaf kisses her (shades of James Bond and Pussy Galore) is utterly naff, and following Liu's torture and suicide it's obscene; and not all of the worst Music here is by Alfano.
But The first two acts (played without an Interval) were a greatly pleasant surprise. Yes, far too many pentatonicisms, and the xylophonist does deserve credit with the singers - but performed as directed by this conductor, there were moments of subtlety and power that can only be experienced in concert. The tuned gongs were a surprise, and it was worth paying the ticket price just to see a Cimbasso in the flesh - looking like the offspring from a one-night stand between a Bass Trombone and a towel heater, it looked and sounded quite splendid. The orchestra was its usual superb self, as were the two choruses (adults and children).
Ping, Pang, and Pong were more than the racist stereotypes suggested on CD - some genuinely touching and human moments alongside the clownery (but their material in Act Two still goes on far too long) - which made their sudden transformation into Liu's torrturers all the more nauseating - and all three genuinely sang their parts with respect and Musicianship. Rafael Rojas was in very good voice (not particularloy strong to begin with - his very first entry was overwhelmed by the chorus and orchestra, and he "coloured" rather than challenged Turandot's voice in the "anything you can sing, I can sing louder" ending of In Questa Reggia - but he was fine elsewhere, and by far the best thing in Act Three was his "you've been waiting all night for this" Aria. Turandot defeated Callas (in her recording, she is magnificent in the notes she gets in tune, but there is a lot of mistuned wobbling) - Orla Boylan was more secure and less thrilling: a powerful voice, but with quite an acidic edge to it (which is perfectly in character) and a very pronounced wobble (which isn't - she sounded as if she was rather nervous at the start of In Questa Reggia). Sunyoung Seo's Liu provided the finest solo singing of the production: given this thankless, mawkish role, she managed to convince this cynical old git that there is much to admire in her Music; it was quite, quite beautiful.
The Town Hall (capacity 1550) was full - I couldn't see any "free" seats at all, nor could a friend upstairs in the "rattle your jewellery" seats; and an even spread of age ranges. Cheers of approval at the end of each act - I had a great time before the interval; far better than I was expecting, and I can well imagine that anyone who likes this work more than I do would have been bowled over by the experience.
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