Turandot

 

Puccini Turandot opera to libretto by Giuseppe Adami and Renato Simoni. Directed 2008 by Chen Kaige at the Calatrava opera house Palau de las Arts "Reina Sofía" in Valencia. Stars Maria Guleghina (Turandot), Marco Berti (Calaf), Alexia Voulgaridou (Liù), Alexander Tsymbalyuk (Timur), Fabio Previati (Ping), Vincenç Esteve (Pang),  Roger Padullés (Pong), Javier Agulló (Altoum), Ventseslav Anastasov (Un Mandarino), Ossama Badreddine (Prince of Persia, with voice sung by Javier Agulló), Eguzki López (Executioner), plus Immaculada Burriel and Jacqueline Squarcia (Handmaids). Zubin Mehta directs the Orquestra de la Comunitat Valenciana, the Cor de la Generalitat Valenciana (Chorus Master Francesc Perales), and the Escolania de la Mare de Déu dels Desemparats (Chorus Master Luis Garrido). Sets by Liu King; costumes by Chen Tong Xun; lighting by Albert Faura. Directed for TV by Tiziano Mancini. Sung in Italian. Released 2016, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: A

Special note: this title (with C Major catalog number 750104) is the exact same record as the popular Turandot published by C Major in 2009 (with C Major catalog number 700404). The only difference between the two versions probably is the artwork, and the reason for the re-issue is likely a berserk lawyer somewhere. For now, just follow the link above for information about the prior recording.

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