Turandot

In one important respect, conductor Gianandrea Noseda’s 2018 performance of Puccini’s final opera at Turin’s Teatro Regio hearkens back to Arturo Toscanini’s at the 1926 La Scala premiere. Eschewing the completion of the third act by Franco Alfano (or the more recent one by Luciano Berio), Noseda stops abruptly where the dying composer left off, with the lights going down and the curtain suddenly falling in the middle of the lament over Liù’s death. One suspects that Noseda’s incisive treatment of the score also resembles Toscanini’s. Otherwise, however, this is a thoroughly modern—or post-modern—Turandot, one as baffling as the riddles that the cruel titular princess poses to her suitors under threat of death should they fail to unravel them. Stefano Poda’s staging sets the story in a sterile white box, in which virtually everyone either wears white or is painted that color, except for a few cast members garbed in black—notably Calaf (Jorge De León), who is fascinated by Turandot despite the misgivings of his father, and Liù (Erika Grimaldi), the slave who loves Calaf and eventually turns the tables on Turandot, at which point other figures dress in black as well. In the first scene, Turandot (Rebeka Lokar) appears in a striking red gown, but afterward she practically disappears, with secondary characters lip-synching to her singing. What all of this is intended to mean is unclear, but it is certainly eye-catching, and the principals sing well. Overall, this is a Turandot that is intriguing but ultimately unsatisfying. Presented in DTS 5.1 (DTS-HD 5.1 on the Blu-ray release) and PCM stereo, this is a strong optional purchase. (F. Swietek)