Life, they are saying, begins at forty, which is exactly the age of Andrei Serban’s model of Turandot for the Royal Opera. This meticulously crafted model had loads of life earlier than 40, however the present manufacturing is best than ever.
The quite implausible story contains a princess in Ancient China who checks any potential suitor three with three riddles.
If they get all of them proper, they will marry her; however one incorrect reply condemns them to rapid beheading.
Despite the hazard, prince Calaf falls hopelessly in love with Turandot at first sight, will get all of the riddles proper, then absurdly provides princess Turandot a let-out: if she will guess his identify earlier than dawn, she will execute him.
As quiz ways go, that is absurdly dangerous, and to make issues worse, it condemns his lifelong good friend, the loyal slave-girl Liu, to be tortured to demise whereas refusing to disclose his id, after which Calaf tells Turandot his identify, in order that she is going to see how a lot he loves her and fall in love with him herself.
Making this work on stage is kind of a problem, however Serban’s dramatic staging emphasises, by sturdy design, the exaggerated fable nature of the story whereas the three principal characters are all performed with nice conviction to make all of it appear nearly believable – not less than for a parable set in historic China.
The title position is fantastically sung by American-Canadian soprano Sondra Radvanovsky who handles the transition from callous misandrist, who loves seeing her suitors’ heads lopped off, to soften right into a soppy romantic when seeing the true depths of Calaf’s love.
Calaf himself is gloriously performed by South Korean tenor SeokJong Baek whose voice exhibits the flexibility to convey each spectacular energy and shocking tenderness.
For the latter, nonetheless, even he was outdone by Russian soprano Anna Princeva as Liu, whose passionate singing conveyed the loyalty and grief of the character completely.
With Hansung Yoo, Michael Gibson and Aled Hall in wonderful type because the three courtiers Ping, Pong and Pang, whether or not as a comic book trio or singing plaintively of how they miss their homeland, and the refrain displaying excellent restraint whether or not performing or dancing to Kate Flatt’s impeccable choreography, this was a pleasant and spectacular achievement by revival director Jack Furness.
Puccini appropriately added an oriental twang to his music, significantly within the type of a bigger than regular percussion part with quite a lot of gongs conveying the suitable flavour when acceptable.
This was very effectively introduced out with energetic conducting by Rafael Payare of Venezuela of the all the time wonderful Orchestra of the Royal Opera House.
Seeing a brand new model of an outdated favorite is all the time thrilling however as this exhibits, a revival even of a 40-year-old manufacturing could be much more satisfying.
Verdict: Five Stars
Turandot is enjoying on the Royal Opera House till 19 April.
Box workplace: rbo.org.uk or 020 7304 4000
This manufacturing can also be being proven in chosen cinemas on Tuesday 1 April 2025. For info see rbo.org.uk/cinemas
https://www.express.co.uk/entertainment/theatre/2031440/puccinis-turandot-royal-opera-house