Turandot by Puccini is one of those grand spectacle operas whose splendor generally gives rise to gleaming stagings. Deployment of choirs, grandiose sets, costumes to match… Inspired by a tale by Carlo Gozzi, this cruel story of a Chinese princess who has her suitors executed is as much to see as to hear.
Listening to the work on CD or in streaming therefore seems difficult, if not impossible, as its plastic aspect imposes it. Unless, thanks to the dramatic commitment of the performers and in the first place of the conductor, the score unfolds not only in its sound dimension but also visual, even kinetic.
Antonio Pappano, conductor and playwright at the same time
Antonio Pappano has understood this well in the very recent recording he conducts for the Warner label, enveloping in his gesture, both ample and refined, instrumentalists and choristers from the Academy of Saint Cecilia in Rome.
Puccini infuses his orchestra with colors and materials of incredible luxuriance, which certain conductors sometimes bury under spills of decibels, pseudo-heroic brutalities and other sentimental spreads.
Antonio Pappano, without ever sacrificing the theatre, does just the opposite, bringing to light the very “modern” boldness but also the lyrical sweetness of a vibrant, silky and mobile score.
The high-flying voice cast embraces this subtle vision: the characters come to life, flesh and blood, coming to us through the singularity of their voices. As if they were there, in our living room, better, in our imagination. Obvious, touching, frightening. A reference version therefore, on the theatrical as well as musical level.
young mozart
In a very different spirit, the same dramatic sap flowed prestissimo in the veins of the delectable So do all by Mozart, applauded on March 24 at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées. No staging, but a clever and playful spatialization of the singers, helped by vitaminized costumes and a few very simple accessories. Piquant idea in particular to provide the two heroines with mobile phones allowing them many innocently narcissistic selfies.
It does not take more to characterize these young women without brains, but not without feelings. As in Turandot, the vocal team shone by its perfect coherence: how not to underline, once again, the sparkling grace of the soprano Sandrine Piau, manipulative and twirling maid? Giovanni Antonini’s jubilant direction made Mozart’s genius, his humor, his freshness and his melancholy sparkle. Unparalleled theatre.