‘Turandot’ provides grand opening for new Sarasota Opera season

The grand opera “Turandot” was Giacomo Puccini’s last, and on Saturday night it provided a grand start to the Sarasota Opera’s 2019 winter season. It is a revival of the company’s successful 2013 production, also stage directed by Stephanie Sundine, who achieved similar if not stronger results with this tale of the ice princess Turandot and her conquering suitor, Calaf.

Only a few ominous bars from the orchestra prepare us for the stark scene as the curtain rose. A Chinese court official speaks to a bloodthirsty crowd of peasants waiting for an execution. Behind him are four decapitated heads on spikes. Here we first meet Timor, the ailing, deposed Tartar king and his devoted slave girl, Liu, as he is reunited with his son, Prince Calaf. Young Bok Kim (Timur) and Jonathan Burton (Calaf) are reprising their memorable roles from 2013.

As father and son, Kim and Burton connect adequately, but it is the tender heart of Anna Mandina’s Liu that rises above. She conveys all that is sweet and good with a robust soprano voice that can float a high B-flat as she sung of Calaf’s smile. This is a role that surpasses Turandot in terms of moving our hearts. Liu represents pure unselfish love, and Mandina carries this well to the bitter end.

The execution in this scene is for Turandot’s most recent suitor who failed her test of three riddles. Only the man who can solve the riddles will avoid death and win her hand. The pacing of dread is very effective as the chorus of peasants cries for blood and mercy in turn.

When Turandot appears, stunning in her tall silver headdress, to command execution with one stroke of her arm, Calaf is love struck. Bent on striking the gong to signal his desire to win Turandot or face death, Calaf is deaf to the pleas of his father and Liu not to risk his life. Kim and Mandino sing valiantly, drawing us into a wrenching tug of war with the bull-headed Calaf, who in the end rings that gong.

Three court officials Ping (Filippo Fontana), Pang (Samuel Schlievert) and Pong (Ganson Salmon) provide comic relief in their futile efforts to divert Calaf. Their witty banter, cajoling and lively interplay are delightfully choreographed. Their return in Act II nearly steals the show, drawing smiles and giggles. In Act III they come bearing enticing lascivious women to turn Calaf’s head, but he is not swayed.

When all are assembled for the solving of the riddles in the royal court we get to know why the Turandot is so icy in the aria “In questa reggia.” Soprano Kara Shay Thomson is a force to be reckoned with, and her steely voice easily explains that the cruel Turandot meant business. We might wait for the hard edge to soften when she falls for Calaf in the end, but even then she proves herself a strong-willed woman.

In this court scene Sarasota Opera Executive Director Richard Russell sings the role of Emperor of Altoumin, returning to the stage where he began as an apprentice artist in the 1980’s. He ably implores Calaf to reconsider his decision.

“Nessun Dorma” (No one sleeps), the song everyone waits for in this opera because of its pop culture status, is in able hands with Burton. He is relaxed and comfortable both as Calaf waiting in a starlit garden for his sure-win at dawn and as a tenor readying for the big moment. He displays minute control of his breath and voice placement with a beautifully true performance of this triumphant melody and sustained high B (not the highest note for this role, but hands down best for wow-factor).

Together at last, as Calaf woos Turandot and tries to take her with a kiss. Although there are signs of budding interest, Thomson leaves us doubting her change of heart until the end.

“Turandot” is arguably Puccini’s most powerful musical score. It is an amalgam of his previous creative lessons and reveals the influence of rising 20th century sensibilities. He sets the scene in Peking, China, with musical chinoiserie: gongs, bells, marimba, piccolo, pizzicato strings, and harp. The colors he employs, and that the Sarasota Opera Orchestra produces are stunning. Maestro Victor DeRenzi assembles and leads a top-notch orchestra with musicians from across the country.

Sundine, along with scenic designer Michael Schweikardt, costume designer Howard Tsvi Kaplan and lighting designer Ken Yunker, create a darker, more oppressive Peking court than one usually imagines. However, the contrasts with court attire, rich gold screen and banners, the sparkling stars, glorious moonrise and sunset are spectacular, providing a bright shining production to open a new season.

‘Turandot’

By Giocomo Puccini. Victor DeRenzi, artistic director and conductor; Stephanie Sundine, stage director. Reviewed Feb. 9, Sarasota Opera House, 61 N. Pineapple Ave., Sarasota. Through March 22. 941-328-1300; sarasotaopera.org