United States Puccini, Turandot: Soloists, Chorus and Orchestra of the Metropolitan Opera Chorus / Marco Armiliato (conductor). Metropolitan Opera, New York, 11.5.2022. (RP)
Production:
Production and Sets – Franco Zeffirelli
Costumes – Anna Anni and Dada Saligeri
Lighting – Gil Wechsler
Choreographer – Chiang Ching
Revival stage director – J. Knighten Smit
Cast:
Turandot – Liudmyla Monastyrska
Calàf – Yonghoon Lee
Liù – Ermonela Jaho
Timur – Ferruccio Furlanetto
Ping – Alexey Lavrov
Pang – Tony Stevenson
Pong – Eric Ferring
Emperor Altoum – Carlo Bosi
Mandarin – Jeongcheol Cha
There are a number of reasons why the house was nearly full for a midweek performance in the Metropolitan Opera’s spring run of Turandot, with a production by Franco Zeffirelli that has been mounted by the Met more than 200 times since its 1987 premier. (For Jim Pritchard’s review of the 7 May 2022 The Met: Live in HD broadcast, click here.) One is the number of young people throughout the house, which means the Met’s efforts to attract a new generation of opera lovers is paying off.
It is also clear that experiencing Turandot live and hearing a star tenor knock ‘Nessun dorma’ out of the ballpark is on a lot of wish lists, as evidenced by the buzz in the theater. The taking of selfies and photos of the production, illicit or not, is an important part of the experience. The icing on the cake is that Yonghoon Lee as Calàf delivered at this performance: impetuous, lithe and dashing, Lee not only looks the part but can sing it.
Then, of course there is the Zeffirelli’s production, which is one of the wonders of opera, especially in an era where bare stages and white walls reign. In the hearts of its devotees, at least, nothing succeeds like excess, but there is much more to his concept than glitter and spectacle. The amount of detail that Zeffirelli wove into the sets, costumes and staging is staggering. Usually, the throne room of Emperor Altoum receives the loudest ovation of the night. On this evening, however, that honor was reserved for Lee’s ‘Nessun dorma’.
These are unusual times, however, and geopolitics have impacted the opera world. In the equivalent of a shot heard around the world, Russian soprano Anna Netrebko, arguably the brightest start in the operatic firmament today, was replaced by Ukrainian soprano Liudmyla Monastyrska just days after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Peter Gelb, the Met’s General Manager, acted quickly and decisively, but he was not without critics for inserting the political into art. Public opinion is clearly on his side, however: for every Netrebko fan who stayed away, there are many more who wish to voice their support for Ukraine and for the Met in being on the right side of history. Of course, there are also those who just want to hear a star soprano in one of the most challenging roles in the entire operatic canon.
It was not a given that Monastyrska would agree to Gelb’s offer: she had vowed never to perform the role of Turandot again after a run at the National Opera of Ukraine in Kyiv in 2015. With her parents, her son and her brother still in Ukraine, she agreed. On the opening night of the run (and for the cinema broadcast) Monastyrska took a solo bow, wrapped in the Ukrainian flag.
Monastyrska is a very feminine, youthful Turandot. Her high notes blaze, and she rides the crests of orchestral sound with ease. The purported plushness of her voice was not always evident, but her Act III scenes with Ermonela Jaho’s Liù and then Lee’s Calàf were exceptionally soft and lyrical. Credit goes to conductor Marco Armiliato, who kept the orchestra in check so that the singers could so intimately express themselves.
Jaho’s sensitively acted Liù was made all the more potent by her emotion-infused singing. The soprano floats high notes as effortlessly as can be imagined. Bass Ferruccio Furlanetto, just a few days shy of his seventy-third birthday, sounded remarkably fresh of voice. Furlanetto is always a compelling presence on stage, and his Timur was a commanding mix of authority, stoicism and tenderness.
Much of cast had performed in the run earlier in the season. Alexey Lavrov as Ping, Tony Stevenson as Pang and Eric Ferring as Pong enliven the action with both their voices and the precise opening and closing of their fans. Bass-baritone Jeongcheol Cha was imposing in all regards as the Mandarin.
There is another reason that audiences keep flocking to Turandot, and that is the Met’s superb chorus and orchestra. With Armiliato in command, they were heard at their inestimable best in Puccini’s final and most colorful opera.
Rick Perdian