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WS Journal bowled over by Piedmont Opera's "Turandot"
Piedmont Opera is presenting a semi-staged concert performance of Puccini's Turandot through Tuesday at the Stevens Center. Some patrons may decide to pass on the show, concluding that only a fully-staged production is worth their time and money.
That would be a huge mistake.
This Turandot, conducted and staged by James Allbritten, Piedmont Opera's artistic director, sets the standard for hybrid presentations of operas that would be too expensive or too large for a small company to present in conventional ways, such as with complete sets.
The music simply bowls you over. This comes via memorable singing from the leads. José Luis Duval's immensely pleasing rendition of "Nessun Dorma" is a highlight. The production also features one glorious chorus after another.
The orchestra of 61 players, composed mainly of members from the Winston-Salem Symphony, puts in excellent work not in the pit but on the stage. The orchestra never overpowers the singing -- a remarkable feat.
And then there are the visuals. These are among the most compelling I've seen in 30-plus years of attending opera, an experience that includes big-budget productions at such houses as the Metropolitan Opera and the Vienna State Opera.
Kathryn Grillo's evocative costumes and Norman Coates' projections transport you fully to the opera's setting of ancient China. I'd be giving away too much to describe it all, but Coates has come up with a lot more than still photography, and it enhances each change in the story and the music.
The opera's dramatics honor what Allbritten rightly calls "not only Puccini's greatest opera, but his grandest."
Prince Calaf (Duval) courts the princess Turandot (Carter Scott), whose suitors must successfully answer three riddles or face certain death. Scott, who has played Turandot more than 35 times, owns the role in everything from the smallest of gestures to the largest of emotional transformations -- which is to say that her ice catches the fire of Duval and melts in way that allows a fully mature woman with empathy and desires to emerge.
Duval and Scott are part of an excellent cast that includes an authoritative Mandarin (Joshua Conyers); a royal-but-human Emperor Altoum (William Beck); and Liu, (Jill Gardner), the slave girl who breaks your heart when hers is broken. Timur, Calaf's steadfast father, is portrayed ably by Gardner's husband, Jake, who is making his Piedmont Opera debut.
Turandot's ministers are Ping (Chris Ervin), Pang (Marvin Kehler) and Pong (Adam Ulrich). They convincingly mock the many suitors who have come before Calaf, but they convey other emotions equally well.
Piedmont Opera will present Turandot at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday in the Stevens Center. For tickets, see piedmontopera.org or call 724-3202. Shows for Piedmont Opera's 2010-11 season have been announced: Il Trovatore (Oct. 1, 3 and 5) and H.M.S. Pinafore (March 25, 27 and 29). A Valentine's Day program will be Feb. 13.
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Tickets
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6/8/10