>>PREVIEW
TURANDOT
Calgary Opera
Starring Frances Ginzer, Michael Hayes, Sally Dibblee and Valerian Ruminski
Composed by Puccini
Conducted by Tyrone Paterson
Directed by Brian Deedrick
Runs November 19, 23 & 25
Jubilee Auditorium
Back in their home province of Alberta, well-travelled dramatic soprano Frances Ginzer and stage director Brian Deedrick are rehearsing Puccini’s fairy tale Turandot in Calgary Opera’s new Calgary Opera Centre (the former Wesley Church). It’s an opera they’re both very familiar with, having worked on it before, both together and separately.
Based on a play by Carlo Gozzi, which in turn draws on a folk tale, Turandot is an uncommon blending of tragedy with some commedia dell'arte characters (the imperial ministers Ping, Pang and Pong). Ginzer, who was born in DeWinton, is in demand throughout the opera world for her unique interpretation of the title role, the daughter of the Emperor of China, who refuses to marry. To ensure she won’t have to tie the knot, the pressured princess insists that only a man of royal blood who solves her devious riddles will be worthy of her. Many men die trying to meet her demands.
Deedrick, a native of Lacombe who is juggling his job as Edmonton Opera’s artistic director with directing assignments from B.C. to Texas this season, describes Puccini’s last opera as an ideal introduction to the art form. He says Puccini has created a near-epic, embedded with eccentricities that provide personality and humanity, delivered by glorious music.
For artists working on the opera, however, there are some unique challenges. Puccini died of throat cancer in 1924 while he was still finishing Turandot and another composer, Franco Alfano, was asked to step in and write the last two scenes.
"The role of Turandot is extremely difficult, because the opera was not completed by Puccini," says Ginzer. "There is a whole chunk of the development missing that Alfano or Luciano Berio (who composed an alternate ending) made a very good attempt to make up for. But it’s still lacking a dimension. I never get tired of looking for ways to try to get over that lack and make the role work."
Deedrick emphatically agrees, noting that Puccini takes the story to a climax, in which Turandot’s heart finally melts, then leaves artists with the dilemma of how to conclude the story dramatically. "You climb the (story) arc and how do you get down? You have all that work to do."
Adding to the difficulty, the role of Turandot also has a reputation for "murdering" singers’ voices. "I’ve been singing the role since 1993, so you keep waiting for that big result," says Ginzer with a laugh. And experience with the part only goes so far. "It helps in that you know the technical pitfalls of the role, but that can be hard on your nerves in the long run."
For his part, Deedrick says that he never tires of directing Turandot. "Each time you do it, you go more and more inside yourself for the meaning and colour Puccini created, sparking off the talents and chemistry of the artists with each new production or new cast."
Deedrick just finished directing Turandot for Vancouver Opera, and Calgary Opera’s production, its first grand opera in the newly renovated Jubilee Auditorium, features half the cast of that show. He feels this version of Puccini’s masterpiece is "so damn well sung" that he and Ginzer are hoping, in Ginzer’s words, that audiences leave the Jubilee "not remembering who played what role, but that they saw a wonderful Turandot." |
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