Turandot

I just saw the Lowell House performance of Turandot at Harvard. This is a quick note to say that it was a great production, and I highly recommend it. In particular, the two leads, Turandot and Calaf, were fantastic. I, along with many other people, wondered where Lowell House was going to find singers in Boston to fill those roles, but they succeeded admirably. Mad props to Michelle Trainor and Kevin Courtemanche, as they were both excellent. All the soloists were very solid, as was the chorus, orchestra, and everyone involved.

Although I have to say (and I know my mother is going to roll her eyes and say, "But it's opera!") that the plot is grade-A icky. Everyone is completely off their rocker. All the leads did an excellent job of making their characters real and emotional, but especialy the plot line in the third act of "You're sexually harassing me! This is making me fall in love with you!" is just a hard sell under the best of circumstances. Not to mention the old chestnut "I've seen her for five seconds! I am now madly in love with her and will abandon my blind, lame father on the streets to pursue her!"

But, as Anna Russell would say, "That's the beauty of grand opera - you can do anything, so long as you sing it!"