Turandot – Arena di Verona Opera Festival

You’re walking through a tunnel, and what greets you on the other side is something that couldn’t exist anywhere else in the world. You enter a 2000-year-old amphitheatre, not as a vacant shell of a place long forgotten, but as a reinvigorated stage lined with thousands of people. The spectacle is no longer gladiators in combat or wild animals let loose – it’s a different, yet no less entertaining form of theatre. What catches your eye is the monumental set, with props and design inspired by the Far East and a fairy-tale aesthetic. Sitting below the stage is an orchestra, nestled into place. Chatter and footsteps chime together as everyone finds their seat – the anticipation builds and then it begins – Turandot by Giacomo Puccini at Arena Di Verona.

Just being there to witness it all was pure chance. I happened to be on a mid-August family holiday in Verona and walking the city you could see posters for the 99^th Arena Di Verona Opera Festival. It caught my eye, but I wasn’t necessarily clambering to go either. It was only when Dad brought it up and asked if I’d like to go that I gave it more thought. While I am a music fan, Opera has always been a little too high brow for my taste. But Dad insisted and I gave in. You come to realise that Opera in Verona, isn’t Opera as you and I know it. It’s an outdoor performance, in a place of historical significance – a marriage between archaeology and music. Sometimes you have to say yes to something, knowing you mightn’t experience it again – and this was one of those occasions.

The festival runs for three months until September the 4^th. Many renowned Operas have been showcased at the Arena to date – namely Carmen, La Traviata, and Aida. The two of us settled on a Friday night performance of Puccini’s Turandot on the 19^th of August. While my prior knowledge of it was limited, my entry point was the song Nessun Dorma which is known the world over as a captivating piece of music. Many will remember the late Luciano Pavarotti’s spell-binding rendition at the 1990 World Cup in Italy. I was born only seven years later, so this would be my first time experiencing the song live and in person.

So, what is Turandot all about? Set in Peking, in a mythic past, Princess Turandot reigns supreme over her kingdom. It is at the grand palace that an edict is read: Any Prince seeking to marry the Princess must answer three riddles correctly and if he fails, he will die. Her most recent suitor, the Prince of Persia is set to be executed at the moon’s rising. Among the onlookers is the young fugitive, Prince Calaf. Transfixed by the beauty of the princess, he decides to accept her ultimatum to the shock of everyone. And so, the narrative is set into motion. Can Prince Calaf answer the three riddles and win the Princess’s heart? Or will he experience the same fate as the prince that came before him?

Naturally, as an opera, the story is unconventional in its delivery: Each line is wrapped in the fabric of song and the Italian mother tongue. It begs the question: how is anyone meant to understand what’s going on? Thankfully, subtitles in English and Italian are projected for the audience. Dad and I also picked up a programme which provided us with a script of the lyrics along with detail on characters, plot, and the vocals. Without these assists, you could still appreciate the music and the theatricality of the performances on stage – but you would be utterly lost. Understanding the lyrics and the story beats in real time, makes the opera accessible and ultimately, a captivating experience overall.

As you might expect, there is a rich ensemble of performers. You have Princess Turandot, (Soprano) the ice-cold, staunchly independent monarch of Peking. She is joined on stage by Prince Calaf (Tenor) who may lack her status but is passionate and persistent in pursuit of her love. The slave girl, Liu (Soprano), carries with her an unrequited love for the prince and plays a key role in the story. Less prominent on stage are Timur, Calaf’s protective father and the emperor who reigns over the kingdom. Let’s not forget the hundred or so townspeople who’ve come to observe the executions, banding together as a choir for moments of dramatic importance. It’s also impossible to talk about character without mentioning the emperor’s ministers, Ping, Pang, and Pong – who do everything they can to talk the prince out of accepting Turandot’s ultimatum. They even go as far as planning his funeral and overall, just offer the audience a good slice of comic relief.

Seated below the stage is a full orchestra, conducted on the night, by Francesco Ivan Ciampa. Puccini’s score for the opera is bombastic, drawing largely from classical influences with subtle and not-so-subtle (the gong) far-eastern musical motifs to complement the narrative and to round out the symphony. What strikes you while watching, is that that nobody on stage is hooked up to a microphone, nor will you find a speaker anywhere in the vicinity. It turns out that the acoustics of the Roman amphitheatre are perfect as they are. Sound travels effortlessly up from the stage to the highest tiers of seating. You are hearing the instrumental and vocals as they were meant to be heard. Then there are moments where everything falls silent.

Nessun Dorma – Giacomo Puccini

If Arena di Verona had a roof, it would have been blown right off. The third and final Act of the Opera is opened with a solo performance of ‘Nessun Dorma’, by the tenor, Murat Karahan as Prince Calaf. It’s here that the narrative has reached fever pitch. Against the odds, the prince has successfully answered the three riddles issued by the princess, to her horror and dismay. Then, to the surprise of all, he sets out his own ultimatum for her: ‘Tell me my name before morning, at dawn and I am ready to die!’ What ensues is a manic search for anyone who knows his name as the night rolls on. Awaiting his fate, the prince recites one of the most renowned pieces of music in all of opera. The silence of everyone listening in awe soon turns to rapturous applause as the song concludes its crescendo. It was quite literally a ‘showstopper’. People chanted ‘anchora, anchora’ (again, again). And just like that, the show was stopped, as the tenor recited an encore of ‘Nessun Dorma’ for all of us to relive one more time.

Regarding the visual aesthetic, Franco Zeffirelli’s ambitious set brings the whole production to life. Like a caterpillar turning into a butterfly, a giant wall opens to reveal the great, opulent palace of Peking. The predominantly gold set sparkles under the lights, showcasing a blend of far east Asian and fairy-tale iconography. The late Emi Wada’s work on costume design, complements the lavish set – highlights being the fabric work and decoration on Princess Turandot’s dress and the vibrant colour scheme for the outfits of Ping, Pang, and Pong. The choreography is highly polished and professional – with several technical sequences, particularly those with the villagers, being very impressive to watch.

Princess Turandot: ‘In your eyes I saw the proud certainty of victory… And I hated you for it… And for it I loved you, torn and divided between two equal fears: to conquer you or be conquered myself’

Act Three Scene One

As the opera races towards its crescendo, the tension ratchets up. Time is running out to solve Prince Calaf’s riddle. Liu and his father Timur get roped into proceedings – with the Princess demanding that either one reveal the prince’s name to her. This is where the unassuming, yet mighty Liu comes to the fore, with a visceral soprano vocal channelling a love for the prince that’ll never be fully realised: ‘I give you to him, Princess – and myself lose everything!’ she weeps. Moments later, she steals a dagger from the guard and stabs herself. As her body is carried away, Turandot and Prince Calaf are left alone face to face. The duet between the two is the highest point musically. All the emotion is discharged as they take each other’s hand in love – the one thing capable of conquering tyranny, fear, and Princess Turandot herself.

The cast joins in for a reprise of ‘Nessun Dorma’ to close out the performance. It is the icing on the cake after a thoroughly memorable production. Being my first time at an Opera, I had no true reference point for what I was about to witness. From what I saw, I’ve just two notes of criticism: One, being the pacing of the opera. The first act is a slow burn, and it isn’t until the riddles are read in the second act that the excitement picks up, which is then followed by the dramatic and satisfying final act. Two, given the scale of the arena we were seated in, the performance could have been projected on a screen to many of us seated a bit further back from the stage. Nevertheless, neither of these qualms are enough to override my overwhelmingly positive experience at the arena that night.

Also, a word of advice for future visitors: If you’re seated high up on the steps, bring a cushion with you – sitting on a hard slab of rock for three hours is best avoided! It’s also worth noting how reasonable ticket prices were. Of course, if you wanted to be up close to the stage, you may have needed to take out a loan but most seats along the higher tiers of the arena could be bought for €32. As a younger person, mine were €24 – which given the quality of the entertainment on show, was great value for money. This was opera as it ought to be – accessible to all, uniting young, old, rich, poor and many more across all divides. It’s not what the Romans had in mind, but I’m sure they’d be proud of it!

Turandot at Arena di Verona is an absolutely scintillating production of a Puccini classic that is not to be missed. The final performance, as part of the 2022 Arena di Verona Opera festival, is set for Friday evening, September 2^nd.