Turandot review

In Sondra Radvanovsky’s emotionally frozen princess and SeokJong Baek’s fearless Tartar suitor, the audience can rely on impeccable, unstintingly empowered vocalism that never for a second disappoints: it’s a pairing that raises the roof and will surely pass into legend. Strong and sensitive, too, are Anna Princeva’s tender, infinitely caring Liù and Adam Palka’s vulnerable Timur. The trio of masked commedia dell’arte civil servants – Hansung Yoo’s Ping, Michael Gibson’s Pong and Aled Hall’s Pang – form a terrific team, both vocally and physically. Ossian Huskinson takes a further step into the limelight with his excellent Mandarin; and Paul Hopwood brings the small role of the Emperor Altoum to vivid life.

This is a big choral opera and the Royal Opera Chorus, under the direction of William Spaulding, rises to every challenge: their soft singing – the hardest kind to bring off – is miraculous. Kate Flatt’s choreography, meanwhile, looks as good as new.

If the quality of the music itself takes something of a tumble in the final section, which Puccini left in meagre sketch form following his death, then Franco Alfano’s completion was given every chance of success. Venezuelan Rafael Payare – one of those insightful musicians who points up numerous details we may has never noticed before in Puccini’s richly imaginative score – makes a welcome return to conduct.

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