August 30, 2005: Turandot in Verona

2005-08-30 Turandot (Puccini), Arena di Verona

Turandot = Giovanna Casolla
Altoum = Angelo Casertano
Timur = Paolo Battaglia
Calaf = José Cura
Liù = Maya Dashuk
Ping = Marco Camastra
Pong = Giovanni Floris
Pang = Iorio Zennaro
A mandarin = Carlo Kang
The prince of Persia = Saverio Bambi

Lü Jia, conductor



Arena
30 August 2005 - 21.00

Turandot


Dramma lirico in 3 acts by Giacomo Puccini
Libretto by Giuseppe Adami e Renato Simoni


Principal Conductor Lü Jia
Director Yuri Alexandrov
Scenographer Viacheslav Okunev
Costume Designer Viacheslav Okunev
Choir Master Marco Faelli
Director of the Corps de Ballet Maria Grazia Garofoli
Lighting Designer Paolo Mazzon
Director of stage design Giuseppe De Filippi Venezia


On August 29 my parents and I went to Venice. It was a wonderful and hot day. This day, August 30th we visited the house of Juliet and her "tomb". So it should have been more appropriate if it was Bellini's "I Capuleti ed i Montecchi" or Gounod's "Romeo et Juliette" that was the opera of the evening. Instead it was the great fable of Turandot, the same opera that I saw most of in 2003, but this time, luckily, the weather was on our side, no rain or thunder interrupted the opera. And I got to hear and see the whole end of the opera from "Principessa di Morte" and the happy ending.

This was truly an happy ending for our trip to Verona. The next day we would be turning back to our home.

Needless to say it was a wonderful opera night. I think this Turandot production very beautiful as it is, is still not quite to my liking. Jose Cura was powerful as Calaf, if the singing was not ringing enough, the acting was. It would have been wonderful to see Turandot twice, but that August 27 was canceled did not hurt so much after such a wonderful end.

From OperaDuets Travel and Photos