Last night's Washington Opera production of Turandot was full of the usual pageantry but lacking in excitement. Here are the principals:
Ana Maria Martinez - Liu
Ian DeNolfo - Calaf
Turandot - Alessanra Marc
Rosendo Flores - Timur
Ping - Daniel Mobbs
Pang - Mathew Lord
Pong - Corey Evan Rotz
Heinz Fricke - Conductor
Lotfi Mansouri - Director
Zack Brown - Production
       Sitting in the first tier, the surtitle screen chopped off everyone who was standing on the palace balcony during the first and second acts. I was never able to see the Emperor sing, nor Turandot's brief act one appearance. The company should have realized that this was going to be a problem. Our Calaf of the evening was a major disappointment. DeNolfo sang loudly with no ring or lyric quality to his voice. I note in the program that he will be singing the same role in Los Angeles. It would appear that our opera's artistic director, a renowned tenor, sees more in this singer than I do. Ana Maria Martinez was a wonderful Liu. Her bright lyric soprano filled the house with wonderful beauty. I hope to see more of her in the future. The 3P Trio was as fine a group of singing actors that I have seen in these roles. Ms. Marc's voice easily carried over even the heaviest of Puccini's orchestration. It was the first time I've seen her and the quality of her voice is much darker than I've heard either on the radio or CDs. My reference point for this role has always been the 1959 Nilsson/Bjorling recording (newly remastered on BMG). Marc's voice is much different in that she doesn't have Nilsson's bright laser-like quality. I'm now in the camp of Marc Maniacs. I think it's a shame that she is not being used by more of our leading opera companies. It must be noted that she had some difficulty negotiating the steep palace staircase, but I guess every Turandot has similar problems. The chorus was outstanding as was Maestro Fricke's conducting.