Customer Reviews

Turandot (Chandos Opera in English)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This performance is recorded in magnificent sound and captures an interpretation full of energy and verve by all performers involved.

jane eaglen, above all, our greatest living turandot.
the chandos company captures the full beauty and size of her voice ( as it did with her tosca and aida ) unlike any of her sony recordings ( why ? why ? why ? ). this will tide us over until decca FINALLY releases the live metropolitan performance with pavarotti, hong and levine it has been sitting on lo these many years.

dennis o'neil, excellent in everything except the big act 3 aria
and their the competition is just too fierce. plazas is a good
liu and like o'neil maybe lacking that last bit of polish that
makes a good singer a great one.

and speaking of great singers, nicolai gedda as the emporer,
what a treat !

timur, ping, pang and pong all very good.
the scene change for act 2 has to be heard ( and felt ) to be believed ( i think my living room floor shuddered )

parry, the conductor, knows how to drive this piece forward and when to take his time and the chandos team captures the chorus and orchestra in extraordinary clarity and sparkle.
i have rarely heard an accoustic so spacious and full.

all hail jane eaglen ! may she reign for a thousand years !

If the vocal performances were of equal stature to the conducting, orchestral playing and sound engineering, this would be my favourite opera recording, period. I am having a hard time evaluating this because of the extreme range of quality. For me the biggest letdown was Dennis O'Neill as Calaf, who simply did not have a strong enough voice for this role. Mario del Monaco, whom I consider to have been mediocre, was far better. As for Jane Eaglen, I am not a huge fan of her singing, I thought her performance was adequate. Her diction, even in English, was sometimes not very good. She had excellent power and accuracy, but I found the tone of the voice too shrill. While Turandot is described as the Ice Princess, this applies to her spitefulness and hatred of men and is reflected in her acting; yet at the same time, she has to look and sound beautiful, being supremely desirable at the same time. Eaglen's vocalization was more suitable in my view to Elektra than Turandot. It should also be mentioned that those who like her singing will not be dissapointed with this performance. The rest of the cast, particularly Nicolai Gedda as the Emperor, was excellent. Anytime neither Turandot nor Calaf were singing, this was sheer joy to listen to.

The English translation takes some getting used to, but if there is one benefit, the first scene of Act II was more entertaining. Overall, I still prefer the Italian original, it is to my ear more lyrical.

I found the conducting, tempi and orchestral playing to be the equal of any other recording of this opera, and it was great to hear the score at such a lively tempo without any loss of detail. The Karajan DGG set is marvellous too, but it drags a bit compared to this one.

Last and most importantly, the sound engineering is as close to perfection as any recording I have heard in about 32 years of listening to classical music on record, equalling or surpassing a good number of Super Audio CDs and Audio DVDs. I have never heard this much detail in this score on another recording or twice in the opera house. While listening at one point I thought there was someone at the front door, but not so - it was in the music. For those who revel in rich orchestral sound, and are prepared to tolerate very inconsistent vocalization, this set could be "desert island" material. It simply has to be heard to be believed. The balance between voices and orchestra is also superb. The performance has several spectacular moments, not the least of which is the scene change in Act II. The sumptuousness and grandliloquence literally brought me to tears.

For me this recording is a favourite alongside the great Zubin Mehta set with the London Philharmonic for Decca. I wish this set had the sound engineering of the Chandos release, then it would be a world-beater.

I recommend this set as a demonstration recording for testing audio equipment. It was played on my computer, with Harman Kardon speakers. Typical of highest quality audio recordings, the bass response was outstanding. The music easily filled our house, both floors.

Definitely not the greatest recording of Turandot ever, and many of the lines sound either awkward or silly when sung in English (I'm suff'rin' Father, suff'rin'!). However, some of the translation is very clever (we don't want any foreign imports!).

You will need the libretto, though, as Eaglen is practically impossible to understand when she's in the higher notes. If you want to download the MP3s (which is a lot cheaper), you can still get the libretto from the Chandos website for free! Just search their website.

If you enjoy this version I would recommend getting the Placido Domingo (as Calaf) and James Levine conducting DVD version. It's of a fantastic Zeffirelli production that is just a whole lot of fun to watch (although it is more difficult to see if you have a small tv).

I don't find this recording to be at all satisfactory. The orchestral playing is good enough and Puccini's colorful score gets a vivid, if not truly exceptional reading. Unfortunately, the singing leaves much to be desired. Jane Eaglen's Turandot is underpowered and she sounds like the character's same old haughty self even when she's supposed to be won over by Calaf's love. This is a very one-dimensional and uninteresting characterisation. Dennis O'Neill is caught here past his prime. Some of the high notes (and high lying passages) are rather effortful and the tenor is not in very fresh voice. Mary Plazas gives a tender performance of Liu with some beautifully spin-out high notes. Hers is the best performance of the set. The other roles are adequately taken but it's good of have Gedda as the Emperor.

Jane Eaglen has often been touted as the coming great dramatic soprano. However, her recorded work doesn't give people any such impression. Her Turandot on this set is underpowered, unsteady and unfeeling. It's just a cardboard protrayal without any real vocal or interpretative distinction. The other members of the cast perform adequately.

The Chandos Opera In English series are perfect introductions to opera for beginners. This Turandot features the great talents of Dennis O'Neill as Calaf, Jane Eaglen as Turandot, Mary Plazas as Liu and as the Emperor is Nicolai Gedda. Sung in English, it does not sacrifice the dramatic content, nor the original melodic beauty of Puccini's Italian opera style. What a splendid intro to opera for novices. Among other operas in the English-sung series are Mozart's Don Giovanni, Wagner's Ring Cycle, Puccini's Tosca and Bizet's Carmen, all popular and mainstream operas that are performed in major opera companies in our current day.

Turandot was Puccini's final masterpiece, opening night was in Italy in 1926 directly after Puccini's death. It is said every noted celebrity and big wig was there, except for Mussolini who hated the opera's mix of patriotism and emphasis on the triumph of love. Turandot is set in ancient Peking, China, in a time of legend. The Princess Turandot (Jane Eaglen) the virgin daughter of the Emperor, has been decreed by law to wed the man who answers three riddles. Every suitor has failed so far and executed. As the opera begins, the Prince of Persia is being executed. Calaf (Dennis O'Neill)is the son of Timur, the Tartar King, who is nearly crushed in the milling crowd. He meets up with his father and with his slave girl Liu, who is in love with Calaf. Upon first sight of the cold and proud Turandot, he vows he will answer all three riddles and strikes the gong. The three Ministers Ping Pang and Pong provide comic relief and melodic trios as they try to reason with Calaf. Turandot appears and tells the story of her wronged ancestor, Princess Lo-u-Ling, who was killed (and possibly raped) by the armies of the Tartar enemy. She asks the three riddles and each time Calaf answers correctly. She begs her father to change the law but her father insists the law is sacred. Calaf does not want to have her by force so he makes a deal with Turandot. If she discovers his name by dawn the next day, she will not have to marry him. Liu is in love with Calaf and attempts to keep his name a secret, even under torture. She stabs herself. Calaf finally kisses Turandot and breaks the spell. She is now in love with him and decides to keep his identity as a Tartar enemy a secret, proclaiming his name is "Love" to the public. The finale is one of the most renowned in opera history. Jane Eaglen is the reason you should purchase this recording. She is first and foremost a Wagnerian soprano, in the tradition of Birgit Nilsson who also sang the role of Turandot. Turandot is an icy Empress, whose high tessitura and sustained high notes are not flexible, but pretty static, yet powerful, cutting through the orchestra. This kind of voice is the definition for Wagnerian vocals and it is perfect that Jane Eaglen's mighty voice is suited for Turandot. She has also sang the role of Brunhilde in Wagner's Ring operas.