Giacomo Puccini: Turandot

This is a NCPA (China National Center of Performing Arts) production where the whole cast, orchestra (except the conductor), and staging are Chinese. It is an impressive and lavish production, very effective. The spectacular and grandiose scenes are very well done and bring you to the point of “wow”, without taking away from the music and essence of this well-known opera.The cast is very good, musically and dramatically. It is not an easy opera to sing, but everyone does a very good job. Liu, the typical Puccini suffering woman, casted by Yao Hong, is remarkable and the staging of her demise is incredibly effective, even beautiful. The voices of Ping, Pang, and Pong are so similar that it sounds more like a choir of 3 than an ensemble of 3 voices. The Ping, Pang, and Pong scene in the second act, an amazing introspective scene with marvelous music, lacks distinction among the three voices.Composer Hao Weiya composed a new finale for this opera. As a reminder, Puccini died before finishing this opera; he only completed the work up to the scene where Liu dies. A few composers have undertaken crafting an ending to the opera, some of them more famous than others. Weiya’s take on the task here is a balanced ending, although it seems to me that the point where Turandot’s ice character is broken and she openly falls in love with Calaf lacks enough climax, while the climax is given to a pompous finale with full choir and orchestra playing fortissimo. It is, obviously, a matter of taste and opinion, but I would have liked to see Turandot’s transformation in the most potent way possible.The recording, visual and audio, is excellent and it really brings you into the amazing theater in Beijing. In summary, a recording to have and keep.

Puccini's Turandot has always been a popular opera with the crowds. It's gorgeous Oriental inspired score and vocals are a real masterpiece, albeit flawed in terms of the drama. This production by China's NCPA is a real treasure. Featuring an all Chinese Cast and production crew, it is Turandot as it is meant to be performed from an accurate stand point.I first heard of this production when it was announced a "film" version of Turandot was to be released featuring an all Chinese Cast. I saw the trailers and the posters which built my excitement to a boiling point, alas it was only released in China. Until now.The standout performer is Turandot herself sung by Sun Xiuwei, who delivers an astounding vocal performance as well as a dramatic performance. She brings Turandot to life and gives her emotional depth, something the character lacks, even though Turandot is an "ice princess" it really makes the drama more realistic when we have an actual human.The cast are all magnificent on every level and the whole performance is that much more astounding because of it. This is a performance to experience and I am glad it has been released on DVD.

There are better productions.

This is a magnificent production. Amazon's description indicates Harold Prince as an actor, which, of course, is wrong. Harold Prince has directed many Broadway musicals and he did a brilliant job on this opera. It's the small touches that make a difference. During the duet between Turandot and Calaf, usually you see the tenor aggressively kissing her by planting a big smackeroo on her face. What Prince did here is absolutely right and it was as if a light went on in my head. The kiss is sweet and not aggressive and that is the way it should be since Turandot believes all men are rapists and murderers at heart.The stars are Jose Carreras and Eva Marton and they are both wonderful. It's nice to see any Calaf with a beautiful voice, but for him to be able to act is an added bonus. The scenery and costumes are maybe a little over the top, but what the heck, it's a fairy tale and who wouldn't want to imagine a place like that?Highly recommended.

Marton is wonderful. Carreras is very good. Ricciarelli is ok. The chorus and orchestra are very good. The costumes are fine. But the minimalist sets are dreadful. I dislike minimalist sets in any opera, but in Turandot, they are completely out of place. It should be the ancient city of Peking in all of it's splendor. Instead it is a bare staircase from a boiler factory. I recommend the Metropolitan Opera dvd, with Marton, Domingo, and Leona Mitchell. It has great singing and playing, great costumes, and wonderful, sumptuous sets.

A friend played this for me not expecting much. Wow, I have never seen a performance of Turandot like this. I love the Met's Zeffirelli production although yes, it is very ornate. I saw the production in L A in 2002 with the ending composed by Lucino Berio and hated, hated hated, it. This Chinese production has the end music composed by Hao Weiya and I love it although to be fair, I probably mostly love the direction and the 2 lead actors. They bring the characters to life which is not easy. The one down side is that the tenor takes a breathe at a very inappropriate place in Nessun Dorma. OK, he can't sing as well as Pavoratti but he is very good, can act, and is irresistable.

Turandot is my favorite opera. I've seen it performed by many artists including the other two great tenors, Pavarotti and Placido Domingo. This production however is the best. Eva Marton is perfection and Jose Carreras is right up there with the best. He was in perfect voice at this time, having just come back from a cancer scare. If you can have only one Turandot in your collection, this should be on your shelf.

I liked Jose Carreras and Katia Ricciarelli.

Very good interpretation of Puccini's Chinese opera in Beijing. Soloists, chorus, ballet and orchestra are all Chinese. The conductor is Daniel Oren, Israeli. I have never seen something like that. Grandiose in all aspects. Very good sound. For once, Turandot looks great, sings well and acts like a real theatre actress. All the main soloists are good. A performance to treasure !

Questo DVD è stato un acquisto fatto oer curiosità (volevo finalmente sentire il finale di Hao Weiya), e si è rivelato un ottimo acquisto.Se la lettura di Daniel Oren non era motivo di discussione in quanto le qualità del direttore israeliano sono ben note - e puntualmente confermate in questo live -, ad essersi dimostrati di tutto rispetto si sono dimostrati gli interpreti che, a dispetto di qualche problemino di pronuncia qui e là (ma da un cast completamente composto da cantanti cinesi è cosa assolutamente accettabile), interpretazione e qualità vocali sono assolutamente all’altezza. Anche i complessi del teatro cinese sono di prim’ordine. Anche la messa in scena risulta ottima nel suo essere profondamente cinese e contemporaneamente rispettosa del testo pucciniano.Ora veniamo al motivo principale di interesse di questa esecuzione, e cioè il finale composto nel 2009 da Hao Weiya per il 75º della prima esecuzione di Turandot. Pur ricalcando per certi aspetti la struttura del finale di Alfabo, la versione qui eseguita si dimostra più valida drammaturgicamente, questo fino alla chiusa finale che, pur evitando l’uso banale del tema di “Nessun dirna”, purtroppo risulta un po’ troppo sovradimensionata, creando un effetto un po’ troppo roboante. Ciò nonostante, la qualità di tutto quanto precede (il grande duetto tra Calaf e Turandot), è di tutto rispetto e risulta più organico ad esempio del finale composto da Luciano Berio nel 200, (che aveva invece il pregio di proporre un finale non trionfale e più intimista ma che per il resto a mio parere siffriva di un effetto di accostamento di temi senza un vero morivo unficicante.Sicuramente il finale “classico” non verrà scalzaro da questo finale tutto cinese ma questa pagina merita decisamente di essere conosciuta.Unico punto dolente la resa sonora non eccelsa (in verità ho valutato solo la traccia PCM stereo e non il 5.1, che è presente sia in Dolby sia in DTS, che probabilmente saranno maggiormente dettagliate).A corredo un making of interessante per comprendere l’approccio alla messa in scena.Tutti i contenuti sono sottotitolati, quindi percettamente fruibili.In definitiva un’edizione interessante che merita sicuramente l’acquisto.

This is a 2013 production from the China National Centre for the Performing Arts. From the bits visible on the Bonus addition, it is architecturally speaking a spectacular building. I woud have liked more about it. This production is equally spectacular. But I wonder if the physical audience would get as much out of the production as DVD viewers would. They would certaiinly appreciate the lavish spectacle, but the more subtle interpersonal interplay, which is well captued on camera, would be lost due to the distane from the stage. The editing for DVD does a fine job of showing both the spectacle and the facial expressions. My only complaint about the recording is that the orchestra is not quite as clear as I would like -- but that is small quibble. The cast is all Chinese, and have performed primarily at the NCPA. But that is not to take away their abilities. Dai Yuqiang is arguably the best Calaf I have ever seen. With his singing and acting and looks, he presents a character with enormous charisma. I would say much the same about Yao Hong who plays Liu -- she comes across as so young and vulnerable that I am sure she is what Puccini had in mind when writing the death scene -- and it was the death of him as well.. I have heard marginally better sung performances, but the total package here is unbeatable. Sun Xiuwei does extremely well as Tuandot. I would have liked a bit less vibrato, but having heard so many other sopranos with equally wide vibrato, I suppose it goes with the demands of the role. Chen Xinyi's direction of the huge cast of singers and dancers without sacrificing the nuances of the interplay of the main characters was very successful. And as I wrote above the DVD editing enhanced it all.I am not a musicologist, so I have difficulty writing about the new ending composed by Hao Weiya. On the one hand, I was glad to have more music in the extended ending, but I think providing a psychological explanation of why Turandot ultimately fell for Calaf was not necessary. From my point of view, just as Calaf had a coup de foudre and fell for Turandot at first sight, so after a bit of softening up Calaf giving her his name should have been enough for her. Some unkind critic called this ending "Disneyfied". However,most productions of Turandot are lavish, so why not this? It is most enjoyable.In short this a poduction that is more than well worth while experiencing.

Magnifique soirée à Vienne .Quand on connait la difficulté du chant et qu'ici ça a l'air facile , c'est ça le don des grands chanteurs ! Quelle époqueformidable ! J'adore .

Eine grandiose, atmosphärisch stimmige Inszenierung von Harold Prince an der Wiener Staatsoper 1983. Die Bühnenbilder und Kostüme von Timothy O`Brien und Tazeena Firth ergeben ein großartiges Ambiente ohne in die kitschig überladene Ebene abzugleiten, die nur noch Pomp bietet, wie man ihn gerade von den Aufführungen dieser Oper auch kennt.Sängerisch sind alle Rollen ganz hervorragend besetzt, da stimmt einfach typadäquat alles bis auf den Punkt. Katia Riciarelli singt eine wunderbare Liu mit quellklarem Sopran von lyrisch involvierender Klasse. Jose Carreras, hier noch im Zenit seiner stimmlichen Leistungsfähigkeit singt einen mittenpräsenten-farbstarken Kalaf von herausragendem Format. Höhepunkt ist die Turandot von Eva Marton, die hier eine "Sternstundeninterpretation" bietet, wie sie auch auf hohem Niveau selten ist. In der großen Erzählung der Turandot - "In questa Reggia" - gestaltet sie mit dramatisch,eruptiv expandierender Stimmentfaltung , eiskalt - stählern, rollenadäquat wie ein "Psychogramm." Emotional könnte man formulieren, daß die Stimme bis in die Fußsohlen durchschneidet". Diese Darbietung gehört zu den magischen Momenten der Oper, die auch Seltenheitswert haben.Lorin Maazel dirigiert begeisternd, farbstark - voluminös- ausdrucksinvolvierend.Dies ist eine von den Aufführungen, die Operngeschichte schreiben. "Wer Ohren hat zu hören, der höre."