Turandot
Puccini s last and unfinished opera tells the tale of Turandot, the cruel daughter of the Chinese emperor, who demands that her suitors correctly answer three riddles. If they fail they are beheaded. Turandot does this in memory of a female ancestor who was brutally ravished and murdered by a marauding prince. Many have failed her test, the latest being the Prince of Persia who will be executed at moonrise. Watching is Calaf, son of the King of Tartary, who on seeing Turandot is captivated by her beauty and he takes up the challenge. With Rosario La Spina cast as Calaf, Susan Foster as the icy princess and Hyeseoung Kwon as the loyal slave girl Liù, the singing throughout is superlative. The choreography and direction of Graeme Murphy is visionary, add the set and costume designs of Kristian Fredrikson, and the lighting of John Drummond Montgomery and this production is glorious in its beauty.
Directed by Cameron Kirkpatrick
Cast
- Susan Foster Princess Turandot
- Jud Arthur Timur
- Rosario La Spina Calaf
- Hyeseoung Kwon Liù
- Andrew Moran Ping
- David Corcoran Pong
- Graeme Macfarlane Pang
- Jin Tea Kim Prince of Persia
- Benjamin Rasheed Altoum
- Shane Lowrencev A Mandarin
- Rachael Cunningham Handmaiden
- Katherine Wiles Handmaiden
