TURANDOT by Giacomo Puccini, in Florence, Italy, Nuovo Teatro dell’Opera, 2012 november 29th
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Review by Fabio Bardelli

FLORENCE:  The main hall of the Florence New Opera House has the curious destiny to host its first opera performance (until now it hosted only concerts) in a semi-staged way, with lights, singers wearing costumes, and slides (not invasive at all) and not an opera in its completion.

Unfortunately the completion works of the New Opera House are continuing very slowly because of shortage of funds: in Italy funds to promote culture are considered by every administration, national and local, a surplus, a waste of money that a country in difficulties can’t allow, while this nation (and Florence specially) is consdered worldwide like the Home of Culture.

So the situation in Florence is as follows: the old Teatro Comunale is under works for asbestos removal, while the New Opera House isn’t quite ready because they haven’t enough money for it. Now it seems that new funds are going to arrive, so that maybe (maybe) in may 2014 the new theatre would be quite ready for artists and audience.

This production follows many others Turandot conducted in Florence by Zubin Mehta: we remember the staging by Chinese director Zhang Yimou, that toured many foreign countries, and the beautiful costumes by Wang Yin used in this performance belong to that staging

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The stage director Marina Bianchi made all it was possible with a small place. Surely the continuous coming and going of all the characters around the conductor, in front of the orchestra and among the public, was annoying, recalling some avant-guard straight theater of about forty years ago, but above all the phonic balance was really delicate in these conditions. In the hall’s acoustics, even too good, the voices sounded sometimes too loud, sometimes they were almost covered by the orchestra, conducted by Mehta with a powerful iron strenght and great phonic jerks. When the hall will be completed, the conductors will have a lot to do to understand the acustics and to balance orchestra, choir and singers, being this hall almost an “harmonic box”, even too much resounding.

Mehta‘s reading of the score is analithycal and luxuriant, full of contrasts and colours, teathrical so to let us forget the semi-staged form. He lacks in emotion in Liù’s most touching moments (probably the little slave isn’t a very interesting character for the Indian conductor), as well as in some orchestral suggestion for a moving atmosphere at her death, but on the whole it was a magnificent conducting, with very good Orchestra and Chorus, both in great shape.

Among the singers best things came from the men. Above all the heroic, correct, very generous and rather well sung Calaf of Jorge de León, even if the singer was rather generic in depicting his character, and vocally in his phrasing. Anyhow he had a performance “in crescendo”, and had really a great personal success after his Aria in the Third Act
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Really excellent the three Masks, Fabio Previati, Carlo Bosi and Iorio Zennaro, all three very good in their acting and vocally almost perfect. Then, Giacomo Prestia was a very good Timur, showing his important voice while delineating his character.

Jennifer Wilson‘s Turandot was partially disappointing: maybe the American soprano wasn’t vocally in her best form. Her voice was bright in the upper register, although sometimes with effort; but in the middle-lower register it was opaque and lacking depth. The singer depicts a very traditional and monolithic character, lacking in nuances both vocally and on stage. Her italian pronunciation was rather insufficient.

The same can be said also about Ekaterina Scherbaschenko, a rather disappointing Liù, vocally not very satisfying. Konstantin Gorny was a good Mandarin, and so all the other singers in their little parts
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This performance had a real triumph, and it was presented in the usual completion by Franco Alfano shorted by Toscanini. We ask to ourselves why is still so difficult in Italy to listen to the beutiful Turandot’s Finale written by Luciano Berio in 2001.

 

Fabio Bardelli

translation from italian Bruno Tredicine

 

Conductor, Zubin Mehta

Mise en espace, Marina Bianchi

Costumi, Wang Yin

Luci, Luciano Roticiani

Video, Silvio Brambilla

 

 

La Principessa Turandot, Jennifer Wilson

L’Imperatore Altoum, Enrico Cossutta

Timur, Giacomo Prestia

Calaf (Principe Ignoto), Jorge de León

Liù, Ekaterina Scherbaschenko

Ping, Fabio Previati

Pang, Carlo Bosi

Pong, Iorio Zennaro

Un mandarino, Konstantin Gorny

Il Principe di Persia, Leonardo Melani

Prima ancella, Laura Lensi

Seconda ancella, Giulia Tamarri

 

Orchestra e Coro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino

Maestro del Coro, Piero Monti

 

I Ragazzi Cantori di Firenze

Direttore, Marisol Carballo