On Thursday, I went to see Turandot, the opera. It was a very strange rendition of an already unusual opera. It's a Puccini, and it takes place in China. The storyline is a little strange and a little weak, as most 'Bel Canto' operas are. Puccini generally wrote cultural, melodramatic tragedies. As with "O mio babbino caro" aria that I parodied in class, the music is often far too melodramatic for the lyrics at any given moment. The fact that this opera was performed in English made that even more obvious.I went without knowing the story beforehand, and learned it as I picked out what words I could from the vocalists and read the subtitles. (That's the thing about opera--even English operas require subtitles to understand them thoroughly.) It begins in a strange setting--on the stage, it appears to be a restaurant or tea house in China, but going through what resemble kitchen doors actually goes to the emperor's throne room. The main character, who we later discover is named Calef, decides to try to win the heart of the princess, Turandot. Turandot, however, is fixated on avenging a former princess in the palace, and so any man who wants to marry her must answer three riddles. If they cannot do so correctly, she cuts off their head. (She does it herself--she doesn't even use an executioner! She's a scary lady.) Calef decides to try, and answers all three riddles correctly, but Turandot is so angry she hurts his feelings. He doesn't want her unless she wants him back, so he gives her a chance. He tells her that if she can tell him his name by the time morning breaks, she can kill him. He sings the most beautiful male aria in the world at the beginning of the second act: "no one is sleeping" in English or "Nessun Dorma" in Italian. It is about how everyone is awake, because the princess is deperately trying to discover his name. She asks everyone what his name is, and kills them if they don't tell her (she's a scary woman!!) the chorus begs him to tell her the name, to spare their lives. In the end, the only people in town that know his name are found and threatened: Calef's father and Liu, their slave-girl. Liu is in love with Calef, and so she dramatically sacrifices herself rather than tell the princess what his name is, so that he can have a chance to win the princess. It is very depressing and melodramatic. Then, at long last, morning breaks. Calef woos Turandot, and kisses her. She falls in love with him, and the ending turns out to be somewhat happy, but we still can't help but think that the characters are completely insane. Liu--for being so deperately willing to sacrifice herself for someone like Calef, that is stupid enough to fall for Turandot, the fearsome (literal) man-killer.
Aside from having a bizarre storyline (as many operas do) it was seriously STRANGE. Very very weird. The chorus was a huge part of the show, and they were dressed as nuns, bobbies, Elvis impersonators, goths, barbies, middle aged women from the 1960s, and everything in between. I'm still not sure what statements they were making. For instance, there was the motif of a young girl in a white dress and veil that went around skipping sometimes when Calef was on the stage. There was also a mysterious guy in a white suit and sneakers that seemed invisible to just about everyone on the stage. He ended up being killed at the end, right before Calef and Turandot kissed--she swung her sword, trying to get Calef, and killed the man in the white suit, who struggled and died without anyone paying him attention. As he struggled before dying, the little girl in the white dress came on the stage, set down a book, and shook her finger at the man in the white suit before leaving again. I'm not quite sure of what this means, but I think that the little girl is associated with Calef, and the man in the white suit is either Turandot's innocence or barbarism, both of which are destroyed once she kisses Calef. It was an interesting symbol, even though I wasn't able to entirely understand it.
Bizarre show notwithstanding, I loved it. The music was absolutely dazzling. The music, orchestra and chorus gave me chills. The guy playing Calef NAILED the 'Nessun dorma' aria (even though he was singing it in English, so it was actually "no one is sleeping.") Turandot was one of those insane "powerhouse" sopranos that really fills the room. I hope I can sing that way someday! Anyway, even though the show was really weird, the fun costumes, amazing music and stellar vocalists made it worth worth every bit. I'd recommend it to opera fans that are comfortable with bizarre, avant-garde theater.
Below are pictures from the show that I found online. I would have taken pictures myself, but it's not allowed in the theater. Looking through the pictures, I'm reminded yet again of how much I not only enjoyed this opera, but how much I enjoy all operas!
Calef singing to Turandot (who still has the sword tenaciously clasped in her hands.)
Some Elvis impersonator and some other random chorus members threatening Liu to make her say what Calef's name is.
A prince from the beginning of the show that was sentenced to beheading after getting the riddles wrong. I do not feel it was at all necessary to have him be naked.
Ping, Pong, and Pang: My three favorite characters. The only ones in the whole show with both sense and humor!*end of transmission*
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