2023-06-26 19:19:17
‘Turandot’, by Giacomo Puccini, returns to the Teatro Real, where it premiered five years ago, and does so under the direction and staging of Robert Wilson, the same one who premiered it five years ago at the Madrid Coliseum. As Wilson said in the presentation of the assembly, the production has few changes. As he already did in 2018, the stage director delicately and elegantly illuminates the characters, investing them with a spectral aura. Also on this occasion the musical direction is in charge of the Italian Nicola Luisotti.
The opera, which Puccini left unfinished due to throat cancer that led to his death, is difficult to sing due to the display of overwatering that the soprano is forced to undertake. The play will be performed from July 3 to 22 in 17 performances. It is a co-production of the National Theater of Lithuania, the Canadian Opera Company, the Houston Grand Opera and the Opéra National de Paris, theaters where it has garnered applause from the public.
The tenor Jorge de León will have to give his all to interpret the aria ‘Nessun Dorma’, one of the most famous in history and which has gone beyond the sphere of opera and has undergone endless versions and adaptations. “There are few tenors who can cover this type of repertoire because the character is singing vocally with a quite demanding and complex technique and writing,” said the Canarian singer. For De León, the responsibility of each singer lies in making his role a personal interpretation, through a unique imprint of color and expression.
The production is made up of three casts, led by Anna Pirozzi, Ewa Plonka and Saioa Hernández as Princess Turandot; Adam Palka, Liang Li and Fernando Radó in the role of Timur; the aforementioned Jorge de León, Michael Fabiano and Martin Muehle as Calaf, and Salome Jicia, Ruth Iniesta and Miren Urbieta-Vega to play Liù.
Pedro LaVirgin
On this occasion, the honoree in the different performances will be the Spanish interpreter Pedro Lavirgen, who performed as Calaf at La Scala in Milan and died two months ago at the age of 92 after establishing himself as one of the best lyrical voices of the second half of the twentieth century.
Puccini died on November 29, 1924 without finishing the score for ‘Turandot’, which was finished by his disciple Franco Alfano based on the composer’s notes and notes. This version will be the one that will be performed again starting next Monday at the Teatro Real, which closes this season with this opera. The end is, therefore, by Alfano, who has more detractors than enthusiasts. These discrepancies in taste are very well illustrated by a legend: Arturo Toscanini premiered the opera in 1926 at La Scala in Milan, but stopped the music in the third act, when Liú, one of the leading characters, died. He then addressed the public to proclaim: ‘Qui il Maestro finí’ (Here ended the master).
Robert Wilson defines ‘Turandot’ as “a story, very old, of Persian origin, which is really a fairy tale.” The director thinks that Puccini did not put an end to the opera because he did not know how to do it. His task has consisted in making it easy for the viewer: «Opera productions are sometimes so dense that to hear the voices and the music I have to close my eyes; my challenge as a director is for the audience to keep their eyes open while they are listening to the music,” Wilson says.
The original story of ‘Turandot’ starred seven princesses, one of whom was Russian and dressed in red. “Red is the color of love, which is why it is the predominant color in the staging and the one that runs through the work.” The contrast is embodied by the emperor’s ministers, Ping, Pang and Pong, “three characters who have nothing to do with the situation, of which they are witnesses, who dress differently, who move a lot and for whom Puccini wrote a different music. They are the counterpoint,” Wilson argues.
The Italian soprano Anna Pirozzi, who gives life to Princess Turandot, believes that her role is littered with obstacles: «Vocally it is a role with many difficulties, although it is a short role compared to that of Abigail in Giuseppe’s ‘Nabucco’. Verdi. At the beginning of my career they encouraged me to sing ‘Turandot’, but I fed the myth that it had to be sung more towards the end of my career. Then I began to think: why not do it when you still have a full and healthy voice, especially when the immediacy of the treble is essential?»
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