Turandot

Chinese film director Chen Kaige, best known for his 1993 Farewell My Concubine, undertakes his first opera with this lavish interpretation of the warhorse by Giacomo Puccini, which opened the 2008 Festival del Mediterrani in Valencia, Spain. Tiziano Mancini's video record of the production brilliantly captures the best of Kaige's vision for the work—a wonderfully elaborate Chinese pavilion set and a large chorus that is shrewdly assembled to enhance the illusion of the masses watching the bizarre melodrama unfold. This version of the story of the princess who will only marry a prince capable of solving her riddles jettisons the faux-Orientalism and cutesy touches that often make Turandot tiresome, as evidenced by the wise decision to play down the traditional minstrelsy in the second act involving the wily trio Ping, Pang, and Pong (Fabio Previati, Vincenç Esteve, and Roger Padullés, respectively). However, the camera also magnifies a central flaw: indifferent acting by Marco Berti as Calaf and Maria Guleghina in the title role. Separately, they have little charisma, and their scenes together lack any true spark. The real star here is Alexia Voulgaridou as Liù—her “Tu che di gel sei cinta” is a stunning testament to the power of love to conquer the worst that human cruelty can put forth. Ultimately, Kaige and conductor Zubin Mehta, leading the Orquestra de la Comunitat Valenciana, manage to camouflage the production's problems through visual sweep and stirring orchestration. Presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 and PCM stereo, DVD extras include a making-of documentary. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (P. Hall)