"Turandot" at Union Avenue Opera July 8 through 16, 2011

Alexandra LoBianco, Jon Garrett

© Ron Lindsey, 2011, all rights reserved.

Turandot is one of the most popular and, in many ways, most controversial of Puccini’s operas. Left unfinished at the time of the composer’s death in 1924, it has never been given a fully satisfactory finale. Critical opinion has been divided on the work’s merits from the first performance. Even the pronunciation of the title character’s name has been disputed. Do you pronounce that final “t” or not?

Judging from the response of the opening night audience, the one thing that’s not in dispute about this Turandot is the quality of the production. The fact that it’s so consistently engaging and entertaining despite the opera’s dramatic flaws is a testament to the talent and energy of a company that I have come to regard as one of the area’s great musical treasures.

Based on an old Persian fairy tale as retold by Italian playwright Carlo Gozzi, Giuseppe Adami and Renato Simoni’s libretto tells the story of the misandryst Chinese princess Turandot whose suitors must answer three riddles to win her hand. Failure means death, and as the opera opens the body count is already fairly high. Witnessing the execution of the latest loser, Prince Calàf falls instantly in lust with Turandot despite warnings from his blind father Timur, the slave girl Liù (in unrequited love with Calàf), and palace functionaries Ping, Pang, and Pong. He answers her riddles, poses one of his own, and finally wins her, generating his own share of death and misery along the way.

That’s the Cliff’s Notes version, anyway. Wikipedia has a far more detailed synopsis. The bottom line, though, is that Turandot and Calàf are two of the more appalling characters in operatic literature. The former is clearly unhinged; the latter a callow youth determined to possess his lust object regardless of who gets hurt (quite literally, in Liù’s case) in the process. Puccini’s music redeems them somewhat, but ultimately Turandot’s story is a fairly unpleasant business with a thoroughly unbelievable “happy” ending cobbled together from Puccini’s notes by composer and pianist Franco Alfano.

That means that if Turandot is to work at all, the principles have to be completely invested in their roles. Happily, Union Avenue has, with few exceptions, assembled a cast that can both act and sing up a storm.

Soprano Alexandra LoBianco is riveting in the title role, utterly convinced of her divine lineage and irrevocably determined that no man will ever posses her. Her character is rock solid, her performance is completely “in the moment”, and her voice is a thing of beauty. Her Turandot is a monster, to be sure, but a fascinating one.

The characters of Ping, Pang, and Pong might appear to be comic relief – and they are, to some extent – but Puccini and his librettists have given them a psychological depth that goes far beyond superficial laughs. Baritone Todd von Felker (Ping) and tenors Clark Sturdevant and Andrew Papas (Pang and Pong) have created fully realized, credible characters. Their second-act trio, in which they lament their service to the homicidal Turandot and long for bucolic homes, is one of the highlights of the evening and was the first number to generate spontaneous applause. Nicely done, gentlemen.

Every Puccini opera has a suffering heroine. In the case of Liù that means both romantic yearning and physical torture. The role demands a lot both dramatically and vocally, but soprano Christia Starnes is more than up to the challenge, with a voice that handles those soft high notes with ease and acting skills to match. Bass Aaron Stegemöller is a solid Timur and baritone Nathan Ruggles is appropriately imposing as the Mandarin who reads Turandot’s savage decree.

Tenor Adam Laurence Herskowitz brings a fine, ringing tenor voice to the role of Calàf but, alas, not much else. The problem is not that he acts the role badly but rather that he doesn’t act it at all, displaying no emotion when he’s not in focus and stock operatic gestures when he is. Tenor Jon Garrett’s Emperor Altoum sounds fine but looks rather like Buster Keaton at his most doleful. He’s been given a throne that leaves his slippered feet dangling, making him look like an aging toddler stranded in a high chair. It rather detracts from the role’s tragic dignity.

The chorus and children’s chorus carry much of the narrative weight in Turandot. Puccini has lavished some of his finest music on them, and the Union Avenue choristers carry it off splendidly, with crisp enunciation and great precision. This is not the first time I’ve remarked on the high quality of the choral work at Union Avenue; I expect it won’t be the last.

Like the West End Players, their fellow tenants in the Union Avenue Christian Church, Union Avenue Opera appears to be dedicated to presenting “big theatre in a small space”. Turandot, with its emphasis on spectacle and lush, exotic sound, pushes that dedication to the limit, sometimes resulting in awkward and static staging. Fortunately, under Scott Schoonover’s assured direction, Puccini’s consistently captivating score carries the work forward even when the sheer number of bodies on stage makes physical movement impossible. I heard some fatigue in the brasses towards the end of the third act on opening night, but otherwise this struck me as a very fine reading.

Colorful and well-chosen costumes by Teresa Doggett (the Hardest-Working Woman in St. Louis Show Business) and striking art deco-inspired sets by Patrick Huber add polish. Stage director Mark James Meier does a respectable job given the constraints imposed by the large cast and small stage. When he actually has some space to work with – during the Ping-Pang-Pong trio in Act II, for example – he creates some very memorable stage pictures.

Whether you’re a fan of Turandot or encountering its unsettling mythic world for the first time, you can’t go wrong with this production. It’s not perfect, but it’s well worth the time and attention of anyone who loves opera. Performances continue through July 16th at the Union Avenue Christian Church, 733 Union at Enright in the Central West End. For more information, you may visit unionavenueopera.org, check out their Facebook page, follow them on Twitter @UAOpera, or call 314-361-2881.