Puccini: Turandot

Nov 7, 2009

2h 9m

★ 5.5

Franco Zeffirelli's production of Puccini's Turandot at the Met Opera in New York

Overview

Franco Zeffirelli's magnificient staging of Puccini's final opera - a fairy tale set in a mythical China - is one of the most popular in the Met repertory. In this Live in HD production, Maria Guleghina takes on the title role and Marcello Giordani is Calaf, the unknown prince. Marina Poplavskaya and Samuel Ramey co-star, and Andris Nelsons conducts in his Met debut.

Genres

Music

Production Companies

Decca

The Metropolitan Opera

Puccini: Turandot Trailers

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Cast

Turandot

Maria Guleghina

Liù

Marina Poplavskaya

Calàf

Marcello Giordani

Timur

Samuel Ramey

Emperador Altoum

Charles Anthony

Ping

Joshua Hopkins

Pang

Tony Stevenson

Pong

Eduardo Valdes

Self - Host

Patricia Racette

Mandarin

Keith Miller

Executioner

Antonio Demarco

Prince of Persia

Sasha Semin

While excerpts of the score are popular today, like the Hungarian March in the first part or Marguerite's romanza "D'amour l'ardente flamme" in the fourth part, the complete "légende dramatique," as the composer called it, is rarely performed. But you must remind of this opera for its unity, its dramaturgy, its libretto (written by Gérard de Nerval) and its long lyrical flights of poetry. Alex Ollé and Carlos Padrissa (La Fura dels Baus) well understood it, when they staged this blazing and infernal version of Berlioz’s score. The musical direction by Sylvain Cambreling, but also the performance by Vesselina Kasarova (Marguerite), Paul Groves (Faust), Williard White (Méphistophélès) and Andreas Macco (Brander), joined by the Staatskapelle Berlin Orchestra, the Chorus Orfeón Donostiarra from San Sebastián and the Tölzer Knabenchor made this production at the Salzburg Festival a reference version of Berlioz’s score.

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