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OperaNotes Review
Metropolitan Opera House
December 31, 2004
By Charlene Frank
Turandot
(A Dress Rehearsal)
Music:
Giacomo Puccini
Last duet and
finale completed by Franco Alfano
Conductor: Bertrand de Billy
Libretto: Giuseppe Adami and Renato Simoni
Production: Franco Zeffirelli
Set Designer: Franco Zeffirelli
Costume Designer:
Anna Anni & Dada Saligeri
Stage Director: David Kneuss
Cast:
Turandot:
Andrea Gruber
Lił:
Krassimira Stoyanova
Caląf:
Johan Botha
Timur: Hao Jiang Tian
I love being able to go to dress rehearsals at the Met. It's not very often you are able to feel such an intimacy with the performance in such a giant venue. And this giant venue for this giant opera together with Franco Zefirelli's giant set was thrilling.
Europe at the time Giacomo Puccini wrote Turandot, was fascinated with Asian culture. Puccini used that appeal in two of his most popular operas, Madama Butterfly and Turandot. A century ago the acceptable view of what Asia was like is quite different than the reality of Asia, but the music for this opera is spectacular nonetheless. Today's story is that of a murderous princess and a man so self-involved, so incredibly selfish that he would allow a woman who loves him to be tortured and his blind father to be pushed to the ground in order to win this horrible princess. Even for opera this is a very ugly story. When she says that his name is 'Love' at the end, the only thing I thought was , yep, you deserve each other.
But, such is opera, and this was an opera that even in dress rehearsal, was loaded with talent, and to top the list of talent was Krassimira Stoyanova as the unfortunate Lił. "Senor, asculto" is such an incredible aria, and rarely done beautifully, but it was done beautifully today. Today it was heart achingly beautiful.
I was looking forward to seeing Johan Botha because I had heard about his beautiful tenor. And what I heard was true. But the passion was missing. I thought that perhaps it was missing because this was a dress rehearsal and not the real thing, but that wasn't the case with anyone else. He just seemed to have clumsy movements on stage and to lack passion. Even "Nessun Dorma" which was done
Congratulations to Andrea Gruber on her return to the Metropolitan Opera. She is a strong dramatic soprano and was able to carry the role of this deadly ice princess beautifully. However she seems to be getting more attention for the "In questa reggia" tattooed on her back.