Turandot at Lyric Opera of Chicago


by Stephen Condren - Date: 2007-02-05 - Word Count: 452 Share This!

This season at Lyric Opera of Chicago the company is performing Puccini's masterpiece Turandot. Without question this is Puccini's greatest work and thus requires the maximum effort from all parties.

The story takes place in ancient China where the beautiful and cruel princess Turnadot is sought after by pricess from other lands for her hand. However, to have her hand you must answer three very complicated riddles, if you fail any of the three your head will be cut off. Thus far no one has been able to take her hand until the appearance of Calaf, prince of Tartary come to fore. In exquisite song and memorable acting skill Calaf answers the riddles and wins the heart of Turandot.

Of all of Puccini works this is his greatest. Without going into the technical easpects of the work I would like to focus on the general aspects of the piece and Lyric's masterful handling of it.

Unlike any opera Turandot is unique in that it combines every aspect of comic and dramatic theatre with music that matches. This is truly a muisco-dramatic work like no other. There are so many fine elements that I would like to touch on but I will focus on the most important.

Up until this point in Puccini's development his opers were a very smooth but patchwork of arias. Though the movement between the arias is almost seamless the dramatic structure of the plots make it so. Turandot is not a patchwork. This is the most Wagnerian of his pieces and all of the music is developed out of a larger fabric of music from which Puccini draws. Therefore, you never go from aria to aria in a void but rather are lead down the path both musically and dramatically. The entire work has continuity like no other opera ever written.

Musically one could write for hours, however, I would like to mention the end of Act I. This music in my estimation is perhaps the finest music ever penned. It is so rich, intuitive, and right for the scene that it impossible to imagine any other music for the part, in particular at the high point when Calaf strikes the gong. Puccini is able like no other person to take you from this high point and bring you to yet a higher plane and successfully. The music only builds on itself and never become redundant. If you listen carefully you can hear the counterpoint to Um Ball Di in the trio. More carefully written is the scoring for percussion which gives way to the timpani on the third refrain of the aria. This is a true masterstroke of musical skill.

In closing I highly recommend Lyric's outstanding performance this season for Puccini's Turnadot.


Related Tags: china, music, opera, puccini, turandot

I was born and raised on the south side of Chicago in Hyde Park Township, near the University of Chicago. As I child I was always drawing and painting. My father owned an art supply company, Favor Ruhl & Watson, where I was able to get all that I needed to progress in my work.

I have always enjoyed portraiture and landscape painting. In High School (Naperville Central High School) I took Drafting from Mr. Pierce. I quickly grasped the principles of perspective and drafting and hence made a career with both Fine Art and Architectural Renderings.

In the mid 1970's I joined the US Navy and was stationed on board the USS Midway, CV-41. The Midway was home ported in Yokosuka, Japan (A suburb of Tokyo). While in service I traveled all over Asia including such countries as Korea, China, Philippines, Singapore, Pakistan, Hong Kong, and Japan. While in Japan I learned Japanese. I speak German and Spanish as well.

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