Treat yourself
If you're in or near Toronto and have about a hundred bucks to spare, get yerself over to Ticketmaster and pick up one of the last remaining tickets for the Canadian Opera Company's Turandot before they're all gone. Only four performances left, including the extra matinee added for this afternoon.
Sausage and I went as part of her birthday treat this past Thursday. Stunning.
Every thing about this production is just perfect. Richard Margison is simply phenomenal as Calaf, as is Serena Farnocchia singing the role of Liù. Her big moment in Act I - "Signore, ascolta!" - was heart-stoppingly beautiful.
And Eva Urbanová even managed to pull off a convincing transition in the difficult final scene - showing us the change from petty, unsympathetic ice maiden to wam, beautiful princess through the power of her voice alone.
The orchestra under Richard Bradshaw found great depth and colour in the music, and worked in perfect complement to the singers - not always easy to do in the Hummingbird Centre's cavernous, echoing auditorium. The set and lighting designers also deserve full credit for painting jaw-dropping, memorable images with minimal fuss.
Yes, it's a silly story, and a maybe justifiably dismissed as a "lesser" opera, but there was nothing "lesser" about this production.
Do anything you can to get a ticket - I guarantee you won't regret it.
The only tiny flaw in an otherwise pefect evening came not from the stage or pit, but from the audience who burst into rapturous applause even before the end of that aria, effectively drowning the great orchestral swell that crowns this show stopper. A beautifully staged moment, powerfully sung and played - brought to a messy, crashing close by fans rushing to applaud even as the last note still tremored on Margison's lips. Grrrrrrr...
Pisses me off no end - why can't you just sit back and relish the moment? By all means, show your appreciation - but let them finish, for goodness sake.
Unfortunately, this audience behaviour seems to be the norm. I wonder what the singers and musicians think...?
Sausage and I went as part of her birthday treat this past Thursday. Stunning.
Every thing about this production is just perfect. Richard Margison is simply phenomenal as Calaf, as is Serena Farnocchia singing the role of Liù. Her big moment in Act I - "Signore, ascolta!" - was heart-stoppingly beautiful.
And Eva Urbanová even managed to pull off a convincing transition in the difficult final scene - showing us the change from petty, unsympathetic ice maiden to wam, beautiful princess through the power of her voice alone.
The orchestra under Richard Bradshaw found great depth and colour in the music, and worked in perfect complement to the singers - not always easy to do in the Hummingbird Centre's cavernous, echoing auditorium. The set and lighting designers also deserve full credit for painting jaw-dropping, memorable images with minimal fuss.
Yes, it's a silly story, and a maybe justifiably dismissed as a "lesser" opera, but there was nothing "lesser" about this production.
Do anything you can to get a ticket - I guarantee you won't regret it.
The only tiny flaw in an otherwise pefect evening came not from the stage or pit, but from the audience who burst into rapturous applause even before the end of that aria, effectively drowning the great orchestral swell that crowns this show stopper. A beautifully staged moment, powerfully sung and played - brought to a messy, crashing close by fans rushing to applaud even as the last note still tremored on Margison's lips. Grrrrrrr...
Pisses me off no end - why can't you just sit back and relish the moment? By all means, show your appreciation - but let them finish, for goodness sake.
Unfortunately, this audience behaviour seems to be the norm. I wonder what the singers and musicians think...?
