The success, which does not seem excessive to define as sensational, of the revival of a show born in 1997 and revived in Florence in 1999, in 2006 and in a reduced form also in 2012, with all the evenings sold out in every order of seats and a real triumph paid every evening to Zubin Mehta leads to more than one reflection. After the well-known events that led to the departure of Superintendent Pereira and the umpteenth risk of closure of the Florentine theatre, Il Maggio Musicale in a situation of relative austerity continues with the line of relying on the so-called “safe second hand”, which began with the recent Don Pasquale. Taking the occasion of the celebrations for the hundredth anniversary of Puccini’s death, the Turandot proposed in the historic installation signed by Zhang Yimou again with Mehta, in fact, on the podium.
Twenty-seven years can be an eternity for a show and a thin layer of dust has settled even on the very valuable creation of the great Chinese film director. At the time of the debut at the old Teatro Comunale (see Marilisa Lazzari’s review) this Turandot it appeared, among other things, as a sort of miraculous authentic version of Puccini’s noir fairy tale: no longer a China longed for and imagined by a Western mind, but a real China. Abstract yes, but purified of mannered chinoiserie. Today, upon its debut in the large hall of the Teatro del Maggio – where it was staged in a partial and semi-scenic form as the first opera performance of the new structure (see the writer’s review) – it appears more conventional than remembered. In fact, Zhang Yimou did not deviate from the practice shared by almost all film directors working on opera for the first time, namely that of following the libretto almost didascally out of respect and fear towards a genre they had just approached. The poetic license of Liù’s suicide by tearing away Turandot’s sharp comb and piercing her own throat with it seems like a really small “force” with everything that has been seen in the theater in the following decades.
But the strength of the show was – and still is in this re-proposal professionally curated by Stefania Grazioli – in being a visual masterpiece, a feast for the eyes that is both spectacular and sober, an example of exquisite taste in packaging thanks to the work of Gao Guangjan, Zeng Li, Huang Haiwei And Wang Yin, creators of beautiful scenes and even astonishing costumes. A classic, no more and no less, even with the ballets that seem a little less evocative and fascinating than remembered, capable of attracting such a large audience even after all these years. A necessary reflection therefore arises – also on the part of those who know how to appreciate any type of re-setting or radical intervention on dramaturgy (provided they are supported by a strong idea consistent with the music) and believe that the theater should not be reduced to having a museum function – on the taste of a large segment of spectators, those who then decide that certain evenings are sold out, who also seek the pomp and evocation of a certain tradition in an opera performance. It can and ultimately, out of respect for a certain public, it must also be, at times, a museum, when what is preserved and exhibited deserves, as in this case.
The career, the name, the popularity and the demonstrations of affection towards Mehta are of such magnitude that they would lead us to overlook the inevitable burden of an arm that has been directing music for over sixty years. Even more so in one of his works – symbol of his entire career, both in theater and on record. The one heard on this occasion is one Turandot monumental and sumptuous, with theMay Orchestra which produces sounds of stunning power and beauty, without losing compactness and clarity of the instrumental details even in the face of mostly very dilated tempos, which instead put the wind instruments of some soloists and the Choir directed by Lorenzo Fratinialways overall living up to his fame in a work in which he is particularly active like this one and in which he has to alternate passages that involve the different sectors and other long and difficult ones that end on impervious high notes.
The overall good cast features some not-so-well-known names, starting with the protagonist Olga Maslovaa Turandot entirely sung and never shouted (and this is not to be taken for granted), accented with taste, with a relatively clear timbre and a volume that is not exactly overflowing, but equipped with a rather penetrating instrument, very homogeneous in the various registers, governed by solid and very safe in the numerous ascending passages.
Of the same level is Calaf Seok Jong Baektenor from color perhaps not overwhelming but far from unpleasant, careful pronunciation, good sound projection and much venting in the high register, so that the natural B of the aria – soberly interpreted – does not put it in any difficulty, like the C in the unison with the soprano and the optional one on “ardente d’amor”. However, he is among the performers put in greatest difficulty by the breadth of Mehta’s tempos, so that he often tends to direct himself, attacking on his behalf.
Compared to a Turandot with a non-disruptive voice, albeit very partially, Valeria Sepe it’s a Liù incisive thanks to rather important means, as a full lyricist who now often frequents the advanced repertoire. His singing line is perhaps not immaculate, the low register is not very sonorous compared to the rest of the range and the string notes requested by the part – all punctual to the call – are performed more in piano than in pianissimo, if not in mezzoforte. However, her phrasing is very careful and her robust vocality allows her to build a less submissive character than usual, who has the opportunity to emerge with an engaging personality.
Simon Lim it is an adequately sung and acted Timur. The three ushers are put in difficulty in the first act by the lack of rhythm of Mehta’s direction in that episode, which leads them to blameless inaccuracies. The cohesion in the subsequent acts is much better, in particular in the long trio of the second act, where the fresh and brilliant tenor voices of Pang emerge Lorenzo Martelli he was born in Pong’s Oronzo D’Ursoin addition to the good intentions of Lodovico Filippo Ravizza, a discreet interpreter of Ping even with a voice that is not very timbre. The Mandarin’s interventions were adequate Qianming Dou and of the Prince of Persia of Davide Ciarrocchi.
It deserves a separate discussion Carlo Bosi, who from the height of his class and his experience sculpts the sentences of Emperor Altoum as better as one could not wish for and perhaps as better as the writer has never been given to listen to. A true pearl of a production that could have seemed more like an evening of luxury repertoire than the inauguration of the Maggio Musicale Festival. But greeted by the uncontainable ovations she mentioned.
The review refers to the performance of April 24, 2024.
Fabrizio Moschini
