If you had a clear, simple response to WNO’s premiere of their new production including a new ending of Puccini’s Turandot, I envy you. For me, this visually and emotionally engaging Turandot engendered a range of feelings, many changing over the course of the performance. Washington National Opera sold out most of their performances this season, but not before the first performance of each opera in the season. Turandot sold out before the first of seven performances: that’s Hamilton-like popularity. Why this happened is an interesting question. Maybe Washington National Opera’s reputation for quality productions coupled with an excellent cast (two actually; see below), combined with the hunger of today’s audiences for some pleasing new opera music and vocals? Note that I said “pleasing”. In that vein, WNO’s new production provides the security of all that Puccini wrote of Turandot before his death and an added attraction: a new ending with 18 minutes of new music and a new libretto. Also adding to the intrigue, the composer for the new ending is known for writing award-winning music for computer games; can a Turandot I game be far off? Regardless, it was an exciting evening, and WNO has a major hit on its hands.
Prince Calaf (Yonghoon Lee) and Princess Turandot (Ewa Plonka) in front with Emperor Altoum (Neil Shicoff) at top of stairs. Photo by Corey Weaver; courtesy of Washington National Opera.
The tale of this production is itself an interesting story. Turandot was written in 1924 by composer Giacomo Puccini with a libretto by Giuseppe Adami and Renato Simoni. Following his death, Puccini’s family commissioned his student Franco Alfano to compose new music for the ending based on Puccini’s sketches; the new music begins with the Calaf/Turandot confrontation following Liu’s demise and processional. When first performed in 1926, famous conductor Arturo Toscanini stopped where Puccini had left off and departed the stage in honor of his friend Puccini; subsequent performances included Alfano’s ending that uses the original libretto by Adami and Simoni. While other companies have massaged the ending, Alfano’s is the one that is still primarily produced today. At 100 years old, the opera has entered the public domain giving companies a freer hand in making changes. Opera Delaware will produce Turandot with its own new ending next week, with some tickets remaining.
The fairytale plot of Turandot is based on a commedia dell’arte play of Gozzi which is based on a Persian story. The opera tells the story of a Chinese Princess from long ago who required any suitor seeking her hand in marriage to correctly answer three riddles; there was a catch, the punishment for failure was death. Thirteen had tried and failed. Enter Prince Calaf who answers the riddles correctly. Turandot still resists but finally falls in love after a single, uninvited kiss from Calaf, who then reveals his name. Puccini was still struggling when he died to come up with an ending that satisfactorily made sense of Turandot’s turn around. My son, on experiencing the opera for the first time, said that only in opera can there be a love story about a mass murderer. Other concerns in modern day audiences have been its historical misrepresentations and concerns with the opera reinforcing prejudicial stereotypes of Asian people, and importantly its treatment of women. Personally, I have always viewed Turandot as a Grimm-like preposterous fairy tale where love conquers all in the end. The plot was far-fetched and not satisfying, but oh my goodness, the music and vocals were out of this world. Calaf’s aria “Nessun dorma” is perhaps the most famous in all of opera.
Timur (Peixin Chin) tries to comfort Liu (Masabane Cecilia Rangwanasha). Photo by Corey Weaver; courtesy of Washington National Opera.
WNO’s artistic director of the last fourteen years, Francesca Zambello, had never been happy with Turandot’s ending, and it has not been performed by WNO since 2009. With the opera entering the public domain, she decided to invest in and direct a new version. Working with composer Christopher Tin and librettist Susan Soon He Stanton, the decision was made to make the background story of the brutal nature of the warlord control of China in that period more apparent in the opera and to change the ending to make it more understandable that Turandot, rather than being heartless, had a heart hardened by events – from Ms. Zambello’s program note, “She rules as she has been ruled: with brutal tyranny.” To their credit, this new production and the new ending work. I suspect it will be adopted by many other opera companies, especially given its bottom line of success for WNO.
That said, far be it from me not to quibble as I meander through the issues. I grant that names of ministers - Ping, Pang, and Pong - has always made me wince at the racial overtones. However, they have provided the much-needed comic relief in this bloody tale. Comic relief is in short supply in WNO’s version. WNO’s calling them by their minister position name is accurate, but their portrayal as frustrated bureaucrats in a totalitarian regime was not that amusing. Plus, the inaccurate portrayal of China allowed designer Franco Zeffirelli to create, and audiences to enjoy, his fabulous staging that adds a measure of charm to the opera. In fact, I found WNO’s version to be rather dreary until the sure-footed female dancers in military outfits started dancing. Somehow, WNO does make the redemption of a woman who bumped off 13 suitors more acceptable, and it does have more of a feel-good ending. Let’s not forget that this is a fairy tale meant to convey a message overall. Fairy tales have the charm of letting you get the moral feel good without believing the story. Yes, if it also promulgates harmful messages, that needs to be addressed. So, on the measure, I contend that Washington National Opera’s 2024 Turandot is the better version, though improving the story alone would not make it so overall. We continue…
The three ministers at work: l to r - Chancellor (Ethan Vincent), Head Chef (Jonathan Pierce Rhodes), and Majordomo (Sahel Salam). Photo by Corey Weaver; courtesy of Washington National Opera.
Francesca Zambello reliably gives great show; she is a Washington DC treasure. She and WNO general director Timothy O’Leary displayed bravery in moving this project forward. She noted in her pre-opera talk that this was Puccini’s largest effort in terms of people and staging involved – ten singers, ten dancers, a sixty-member adult chorus and a twenty-member children’s chorus, a 73-piece orchestra and a 14-piece off stage banda, in addition to creative staff for set design, costume design, hair and makeup, and production staff for staging. There were over 250 individuals involved in this production. I noted that at times the stage was as packed with performers as the sold-out theater was with audience members. Bravi to all and kudos for a well-deserved success!
Composer Christopher Tin is a two-time Grammy award winner. Perhaps that gave him the courage to compose new music in juxtaposition to some of Puccini’s greatest when this is his first opera composition; for insight into his approach to this task, check out his Youtube video at this link. My hearing was that it was a job well done, interesting in orchestration, pleasing to the ear, and working well coupled to the vocals containing the new libretto. There is a video clip sample of the new ending at this link. Guest conductor Speranza Scappucci and the WNO Orchestra played the music of both Puccini and Tin beautifully, though a few times I would have preferred a bit more volume to match the power of the singers for this production. The new libretto by Susan Soon He Stanton, an award winning screenwriter for the HBO series, Succession, included some beautiful poetry working well with Mr. Tin’s music, though more direct in messaging than that of Adami and Simoni, in creating Turandot the Merciful. I especially liked Calaf pleading, “My love has broken everything except hope.” Then, by will and courage Turandot rises above her dark side and turns a brutal military regime into an open and fair-minded democracy through the redemptive power of love. Maybe it was a little over the top; as Turandot says to Calaf at one point, “Pretty words.” Yet, I accepted it because it is a fairytale, and I wanted to believe it, maybe I do believe it. In this version, it is Turandot who initiates the first kiss, but not until Calaf has risked his life by divulging his name. One line might have been better earlier in the scene: when Turandot hearing his name declares she has won and Calaf says, “I don’t have to lose for you to win”, there was a smattering of laughter from the audience in a highly dramatic moment. Let me restate that I liked the new libretto a lot.
A scene from WNO’s new production of Turandot with dancers in the front. Photo by Corey Weaver; courtesy of Washington National Opera.
The powerful cast for Turandot for the first five performances features star soprano Ewa Plonka as Princess Turandot. She has a high soprano voice, forced in this role to mainly sing at near maximum power, which she did well. She sang beautifully but the outstanding feature of her performance was her acting, regal and confident in every way and more than that, projecting a heartless persona. This is a performance not to miss, but there are no tickets left. Calaf, also a demanding role to sing, was played by excellent tenor Yonghoon Lee who possesses a lovely resonant voice. He met every challenge and turned in a fine “Nessun dorma”. Mr. Lee previously appeared with WNO in their 2017 Aida. Perhaps the most standout of several standout performances of the evening was given by soprano Masabane Cecilia Rangwanasha in the smaller role of servant girl Liu. Her lovely voice was pitch perfect all evening. The role of Liu is a known for being a potential scene stealer, and Ms. Rangwanasha took full advantage. Another fine performance given was that of bass Peixin Chen as Timur, the disposed king of Tartary and father of Calaf. He sang well with a strong, appealing bass voice. His strength and power made him seem ready to retake the throne.
The remaining named singers were also a pleasure to see and hear. I will only single out one more for comment, tenor Neil Shicoff who played the role of the Emperor. This is a small role that usually passes me by, but it was a small, featured role in this performance performed by renown singer who Ms. Zambello convinced to return to the stage. His singing and performance as an elderly ruler caused me to take notice of this role in the opera. Also, there were eighty other singers, sixty in the WNO’s adult chorus and twenty in the children’s role. In this opera, the choruses are featured in almost every scene, and these two were standouts. Kudos to them and chorus master Steven Gathman.
The stranded bands of Beijing outsiders huddle while awaiting thier fate. Photo by Corey Weaver; courtesy of Washington National Opera.
WNO’s staging of Turandot was updated from ancient China to something more mid-twentieh century China of a militaristic, authoritarian society. The set by Wilsin Chin was an oppressive contruction of frame and flooring that wrapped around and from top to bottom of the stage until the ending scene. The costumes by Linda Cho were mostly a serious grey both of the officials and the culturally mixed people in the courtyard who were stranded in Beijing after their prince’s head was chopped off. For me, the dancers with choreography by Jessica Lang and Kanji Segawa were a delight, a bit of pleasure in an unfun society. The movements of the performers and the flow of the story were well configured by Director Zambello, with her usual professional touches like having a follower brutally pushed back when trying to comfort the prince going to his execution and the placement of the guillotine scaffold against the backdrop of a full moon once the wrap around frame opens up at the final scene. Lighting design was by Amith Chandrashaker and projection design by S. Katy Tucker. Looking at photos to select for this blog report gave me a much higher appreciation for this work’s set, costume, lighting. and projection design than I had at the performance. They are exceptional.
Kudos to Washington National Opera for providing a much anticipated and rewarding night at the opera. The new production with a new ending successfully achieved its goals. After this one, you still may not like Princess Turandot, but you will understand her better, and the primary message of the opera, the redemptive power of love, comes through more clearly and thus, more powerfully in this version. Now the challenge rests with us, to apply that force in our own lives. One wonders what the ending might have been if Puccini had been given more time, likely striving for the same effect. Judged as entertainment, this and Alfano’s version were closer in merit, but in meeting opera’s goal of being a humanizing influence, WNO’s is the winner. For the record, my wife was even more enthusiastic about the new production and ending than I was and feels I should have used more superlatives in describing the performance. Sigh…
The Fan Experience: WNO scheduled performances of Turandot for May 11, 13, 17, 19, 22, 24, 25. Performances on May 24 and 25 will have a different cast. The opera is sung in Italian with English subtitles shown overhead. The performance lasts 2.5 hrs not including a 25 minute intermission. This is a new production with a world premiere ending and is a coproduction of WNO, Opèra de Montrèal, and Dallas Opera. May 11 was the WNO Gala performance of the opera. A pre-opera talk is available one hour before curtain time for ticket holders. While performances are sold out, some tickets get returned to the Kennedy Center which are then made available; try checking the website or calling the box office frequently if you wish to snag a ticket.
Parking in the Kennedy Center is typically plentiful at around $25 per day, with a small discount for Kennedy Center members when reserved ahead of the day. The Metro to Foggy Bottom and the free red Kennedy Center buses, from there to the Kennedy Center running every 15 minutes, are an excellent option. There is an advantage in getting there a bit early. KC frequently has multiple performances on its different stages overlapping that can create traffic jams.
There are snack stands in the main lobby, and on the Terrace level, the KC Café offers food cafeteria style at moderate prices; fine dining is available on the Terrace level in the Roof Terrace Restaurant. Food and drinks except water are not allowed inside the opera house, but you can purchase reusable capped containers with your drinks that you can take inside. Take the container back with you on your next KC visit to get a discount on your drink.