Opera Holland Park is celebrating its 30th anniversary with a concert performance of Puccini's final opera, Turandot, in a reduced orchestration stylishly led by conductor Naomi Woo. The production, running on 25 and 27 June, marks the first time the company has staged this colossal work, which typically requires vast forces. Despite the challenges, Tony Burke's orchestral reduction proved more than adequate to convey the sonic grandeur of Puccini's score, with the City of London Sinfonia's 41 players delivering a classy performance.
Naomi Woo's Fluid Interpretation
Naomi Woo's baton brought both punch and panache to the performance, finding felicitous details often buried in the full orchestration. The exotic percussion and sufficient brass lent the necessary firepower, though the Mandarin's opening xylophone and a feeble electric organ were minor letdowns. The overall effect, however, was one of stylish fluidity.
José de Eça's Standout Calaf
Portuguese tenor José de Eça leads a strong cast as Calaf, with supple phrasing and an ideally Italianate tone. His rendition of Nessun dorma was both elegant and thrilling, and an optional top C in the riddle scene found him barely breaking a sweat. Welsh soprano Fflur Wyn delivered a sweet-toned Liù, with a lovely pianissimo in Signore ascolta and a touching death scene.
Anne Sophie Duprels as Turandot
French soprano Anne Sophie Duprels brought necessary firepower at the top of the voice to ride the orchestra as Turandot, though she lacked amplitude and stability elsewhere. The production also features Josef Jeongmeen Ahn, Joseph Buckmaster, and Zwakele Tshabalala as charismatic and convincingly contrasting characters Ping, Pang, and Pong, bringing out the music's lyricism and sardonic bite. Jihoon Kim is a warmly resonant Timur.
Chorus and Direction
The Opera Holland Park Chorus, as demonstrated in this season's La Fanciulla del West, is a match for any choir on the circuit, joined here by the company's enthusiastic youth chorus. Director Eleanor Burke brings thoughtful ideas, though singers are sometimes placed frustratingly distant from the audience, and the imposed ending—where a distraught Turandot roundly rejects Calaf—feels forced.
