By Reviewed by Michael Shmith
By Giacomo Puccini
Opera Australia State Theatre
Until May 11
GRAEME Murphy's 22-year-old production of Turandot (rehearsed by Cathy Dadd and Christopher Dawes) is choreographed rather than directed. There's always something to see - for example, Chinese versions of Mexican waves, swaths of silk and fans, and masks galore. In fact, it's the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics with vocal effects.
Spectacle alone, however, does not always work in Turandot's favour. On opening night, Andrea Licata's conducting was sluggish and Orchestra Victoria sounded often ill-focused or too loud, at the expense of vocal clarity. The Opera Australia chorus, directed by Michael Black, was first-rate. But it still requires strong principal voices, which were in short supply.
Rosario La Spina and Susan Foster in Turandot.Credit: Branco Gaica
American soprano Susan Foster did her best as the ice princess, managing the treacherous top notes with skill, yet was also squally at times. Rosario La Spina's Calaf was too soft-grained, and his big number, Nessun Dorma, lacked the true stentorian tenor sound. Hyeseoung Kwon's Liu was sweet-toned, yet a little light. Jud Arthur's King Timur and Andrew Moran, David Corcoran and Graeme Macfarlane as Ping, Pong and Pang, were fine.
What was missing was any sense of tautness and drama. Turandot is an immaculate example of orchestration, little of which was on display.