The Metropolitan Opera simulcast of Turandot, enjoyed by an almost full house at the Saint Louis Art Museum on November 7, is a textbook example of opera at its grandest.
The Metropolitan Opera simulcast of Turandot, enjoyed by an almost full house at the Saint
Louis Art Museum on November 7, is a textbook example of opera at its grandest. Big voices,
splendid sets and costumes, and a stage bursting with performers (including tumblers and a
trio of executioners who seemed to have stepped right out of a muscle magazine) in one of
the classics of the modern repertoire.
This was the 1987 Franco Zeffirelli production and to say that sets are stunning doesn’t
quite suffice. I can see why some patrons are sorry that Zeffirelli’s Tosca has been
transitioned out of the Met’s repertoire even though I loved the Luc Bondy production also
simulcast earlier this fall. The royal palace is almost overwhelming in its golden
splendor, while the grim pre-execution darkness outside the palace walls perfectly
communicates the barren despair which grips the land. There’s wonderful detail wherever you
look and lighting designer Gil Wechsler provides some magical moments, from the first
reveal of Turandot to convincing transitions from darkness to daylight. Costumes by Anna
Anni and Dada Saligeri were perfectly in line with the tenor of the production (although
they did make Liù look more than a bit like Pocahontas) and provided several great
character moments, most notably the transition of Turandot from ice princess to vulnerable
woman. Hey, there’s even heads on pikes for the small boy in all of us (and we were also
treated to a discussion of severed heads in opera by propmaster James Blumenfeld during an
intermission interview)
Tenor Marcello Giordani is a noble Calàf although his “Nessun dorma” seemed a bit
understated and there was an awkward pause near the end of the aria (presumably to allow
the applause to clear) which broke up the flow of the music. Maria Guleghina certainly has
the voice for Turandot and she assumed the necessary icy manner as well (as she said in one
an intermission interviews, it’s no fun playing a character everyone hates) while Marina
Poplavskaya as Liù showed a wonderful pianissimo command in her upper range. Samuel Ramey
brought a grave presence and penetrating voice to his role as Timur. The program does not
list the cast members for the roles of the ministers Ping Pang and Pong but judging from
curtain calls they were six in all: three who sang movingly of their country homes in “Ho
una casa nell’ Honan” and three more in masks who performed acrobatics.
Conductor Andris Nelsons, making his Metropolitan Opera debut, provided a polished reading
of Puccini’s score. He also has matinee-idol good looks and no lack of presence on camera—
maybe he can be the ambassador of classical music for today’s generation of young people as
Leonard Bernstein was for the post-war generation. The performance on Saturday was
unfortunately marred by the singers and orchestra going out of sync several times, but
given the size of the production it’s a wonder it worked as well as it did. I feel the same way
about some technical problems in Saturday’s simulcast—mainly brief gaps in the sound
and picture—given the complexity of transmitting high-definition video and audio from a
live performance in New York to theaters all over the world, it’s also a wonder there have
been so few problems.
The Metropolitan simulcasts are performed in the original language and subtitled in
English. Next up is Les Contes d’Hoffman (Dec. 19) in a new production by Bartlett Sher and
starring Joseph Calleja, Alan Held, Kathleen Kim, Anna Netrebko, Ekaterina Gubanova and
Kate Lindsay. The remaining operas in the series are Der Rosenkavalier (Jan. 9), Carmen
(Jan. 16), Simon Boccanegra (Feb. 6), Hamlet (March 27) and Armida (May 1). Further
information is available from the Museum at http://saintlouis.art.museum/index.aspx?id=373
and tickets are available from from the museum box office or from Metrotix at
www.metrotix.com or 314-534-1111. | Sarah Boslaugh
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