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Turandot

Published Monday 8 August 2005 at 11:25 by George Hall

The Kirov’s brief Covent Garden visit comes to a splendid end with this traditional production of Puccini’s final masterpiece. It is colourfully designed by Isabelle Partiot-Pieri (sets) and Katia Duflot (costumes) and astutely staged by the talented French director Charles Roubaud, who supplies what is easily the most lively and crisply performed of the three shows the Kirov has brought to London this time around. The Royal Opera should grab him.

The cast is strong. Irina Gordei is a tireless Turandot, grandly imperious and vocally trenchant. She is extremely well partnered by the Calaf of the baritonal tenor Vladimir Galuzin, whose honed, powerful voice is combined with a stern stage presence.

Irma Gigolashvili’s Liu is hardly less good, though she is not quite so secure vocally. But she is a fluent actress and is moving as the loving but doomed slave girl.

There is a solid Timur from Gennady Bezzubenko and a notable trio of Mandarins in the shapes of Andrei Spekhov, Alexander Timchenko and Oleg Balashov.

On this occasion the chorus is formidable and the orchestra, playing with a magnificent depth of tone, is on its strongest form. The Kirov’s charismatic artistic director and chief conductor Valery Gergiev shows a fine appreciation of the work’s structure and colouristic range and even manages the feat of making the Alfano ending sound on a par with the rest.

In all a very classy evening and one that effaces bad memories of the Kirov’s disappointing Verdi season at Covent Garden in 2001.

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