Opera Review: Turandot

Turandot
Vancouver Opera
Queen Elizabeth Theatre
Saturday October 29 7:30pm

Vancouver Opera opened its 2005-2006 season with Giacomo Puccini's final opera. When the new earlier start time of 7:30pm arrived we got a surprise announcement by General Director James Wright. Usually when the General Director comes onstage with an announcement it's something bad like the soprano has laryngitis. Fortunately he was just delaying the starting time by a few minutes to accomodate the latecomers who didn't notice the earlier start time which was plastered on all Vancouver Opera billboards, posters, mailings, websites, and advertisements.

After about a 10 minute delay, the four guards in black who had discreetly moved onto stage tore away the yellow curtains and the opera launched into action right away without an overture. This was the first of many interesting production touches. The minimalist set was dominated by a large rear-projected screen at the back of the stage. Images and color washes projected on the screen suggested a set and created a mood. The actual set pieces were tall, bamboo-like, moveable scaffolding pieces.

This setup was used to convey symbolic meaning. The common people were at ground level. Turandot, the courtiers, and the Emperor were above everyone on the scaffolds. As the opera unfolds Turandot progressively descends from her remoteness until she is at last on ground level with Calaf.

I also noticed the symbolic use of colour although I'm not sure what it all meant. The first act opens with a yellow curtain, the Mandarin in yellow, and Turandot veiled in ghostly white. The second act starts with a green curtain and Turandot in a green costume. The third act starts with a blue curtain and Turandot in a blue costume. The final scene starts with a red curtain which seems to symbolize the love between Calaf and Turandot.

Another interesting aspect of production were the costumes which were not strictly ancient Chinese in appearance. The guards looked like would be at home in a Star Wars film. The wheeled outfits for Ping, Pang, and Pong reminded me of Doctor Who's Daleks. When they are trying to dissuade Calaf from trying to court Turandot I half expected them to tell him he would be exterminated!

On the music side, the large chorus was quite impressive. From the turbulence of the opening scene to the celebration of the final scene they carried the grandness of this opera. Also impressive was the children's chorus.

I was initially having doubts about tenor Renzo Zulian (Calaf). He was difficult to hear in the first act. However, he seemed to find his voice in the second act. And he redeemed himself with me on the all important "Nessun dorma!" which starts the third act.

Soprano Audrey Stottler (Turandot) has a big dramatic voice which easily carried through the rafters especially when's she's right up there on a scaffold. We don't get to hear her until the second act when she delivers the role of the cruel and remote ice princess. Although I have to say her stature is more queen than princess so some suspension of disbelief is required.

Soprano Sally Dibblee (Liu) steals the show with the best performance. Her role is the most sympathetic and she sings it with very touching emotion. The audience thought so too with the loudest applause for her.

It's a good start to this very dramatic opera season. I'm looking forward to more music, singing, and beheadings next time in Dialogues of the Carmelites.