Review: Turandot"Turandot, New Jersey Opera Theater"Opera News (David Shengold) Five-year-old New Jersey Opera Theater, which boasts a healthy summer season on the cozy Berlind Stage of Princeton's McCarter Theater, took a big step on March 4 with its first "mainstage show" in the larger Matthews Theatre– an exciting, well-cast semi-staged Turandot due to be repeated a week later in New Brunswick's even bigger State Theatre. With a powerful chorus (Philadelphia's Mendelssohn Club, augmented by some City Opera regulars) in concert attire, arrayed in back of the surprisingly eloquent Westfield Symphony, tautly led by Steven Mosteller, Ira Siff deftly provided a riveting semi-staging, bringing to the foreground the human drama among (and within) the principals. Calàf (the excellent Allan Glassman) interacted much more with Timur than usual, and we saw his real anguish at the death of Liù (the affecting Barbara Shirvis). Tellingly, Siff had draw her suicide weapon from her beloved master's cloak and die looking longingly at him. Resplendent traditional costumes (Patricia A. Hibbert) and Anne Ford Coates's expert wig and makeup work provided some visual dazzle even if McCarter's lighting capabilities seem puzzlingly primitive for a significant (and renovated) facility. Sharon Sweet gave the world's stages some fine large-format singing in the 1990s, with Wagner's Elisabeth proving a particular Met success. This production marked her return to active performing after several years of being sidelined by severe arthritis. For most of the performance, the soprano remained seated; she stood for emphasis a few times and made an entrance in Act III. One suspects that, past the emotional stress of this occasion, Sweet fared better the following week. Her return emerged as neither a mistake nor (despite her genuine courage) a triumph. She plainly retains the power and range manifest in her starring days at the Met, with certain phrases (such as the concluding "Il suo nome è Amor") showing genuine quality. Much of the rest emerged merely loud, with a slight tonal edge, though she warmed up as the afternoon went on. Her phrasing was, as one remembers, musically correct but lacking in sharp individual profile. Sweet still sounds as if, in more relaxed circumstances, she might be capable of some commanding vocalism. Glassman sang a fine Calàf in this auditorium in July 2001 for Opera Festival of New Jersey, from whose ashes NJOT has risen under artistic director Scott Altman (the Timur of that performance). If anything, he's improved in the part, with more refinement in phrasing and tonal variety. With his clear diction, pocket-dramatic sound and genuinely thrilling squillo on top, Glassman sounded like an amalgam of Jan Peerce and Franco Corelli — and he fearlessly pulled off two Corelli Calàf tricks — holding Act I's "Turandot" throughout all three gong strikes and interpolating a clean, stirring C into "Ti voglio tutt'ardente d'amor" in the riddle scene. Major bravos ensued. This tenor deserves a shot at Turandot, and also Il Tabarro, at major theaters. Shirvis, physically as lovely a Liù as could be imagined, brought welcome emotional directness and a sunny, shimmering sound to her music. One or two climactic notes escaped her otherwise masterful dynamic control, but hers was a strong. moving performance, hailed by the capacity audience. Raymond Aceto (Timur) lent more dynamic variety than he sometimes does to his ever-imposing bass. Anton Belov's fine baritone was impressive for the evenness of its registers; he launched Ping's "Ho un' casa nell'Honan" with the subtlety of a Lieder singer. Veteran scene-stealer Jonathan Green (Pang) and incisive, fluid Joel Sorensen (Pong) held up the tenor ends of the mask trio with distinction; sharply directed and blocked by Siff, the commedia threesome had a field day, musically and dramatically. Matthew Burns offered a clarion, well-focused Mandarin. Return to the Reviews and Articles Archive.
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