The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden: Could Its Troubles Be Over?

by Irving Spitz

London, England—Over the past few years, the Royal Opera House (ROH) has been plagued by debt, scandal and bad publicity. But the appointment of the latest American Arts Administrator, Michael Kaiser, as chief executive in 1998—the third such appointment within one year—seemed to put the ROH back on track.

The house reopened two years ago after a major, $400 million renovation, which provided improved seating and spacious lobbies, as well as the Vilar Floral Hall with its spectacular views. Administrative problems nevertheless continue. Kaiser recently resigned to take up the position of Director of the Kennedy Center in Washington, making London’s loss Washington’s gain. But judging by a recent performance of Turandot, the artistic future of this venerable theatre appears to be on a very firm footing.

Turandot is Puccini’s last opera. In the plot, Princess Turandot offers her suitors a chance of solving three riddles. She will marry the man who succeeds, but failure means death. Although his aged father, Timur, and the slave-girl Liu try to dissuade Prince Calef, he tries his luck and successfully answers the riddles. However he tells Turandot that if she discovers his name before dawn, he is prepared to die. The next day, Liu and Timur are captured. Liu tells her captors, including Turandot, that she knows Calef’s name but even under torture fails to reveal it. She then commits suicide. This action has a dramatic effect on Turandot. She embraces Calef and they are reconciled.

Puccini died just after scoring the suicide of Liu. His friend and pupil, Franco Alfano, was given the task of completing the score. However at the premiere at La Scala in 1926, Toscanini laid down this baton at the conclusion of Liu’s aria, because, as he said, turning to the audience, “This is where the maestro laid down his pen.”

Andrei Serban originally staged this very accomplished production of Turandot in 1984 and Jeremy Sutcliffe directed the current revival. The sets by Sally Jacobs are spectacular. Adding immeasurably to the overall effect was the brilliant lighting by Mitchell Dana. Despite being 17 years old, the production remains timeless, fresh and invigorating.

This was also a vocally strong performance. The British soprano Jane Eaglen, who took on the challenging title role of the Ice Princess Turandot, has developed an extraordinary career with very challenging soprano roles including Norma, Brunhilde and Isolde. Although her role in Turandot calls for her to sing only for 18 minutes, it is very demanding, the voice requires athletic flexibility and a huge range. In the aria “In questa regia” (Within this Palace), her soaring, powerful soprano was there, along with beautifully rendered, quieter, lyrical moments.

The Welsh tenor Dennis O’Neill was Prince Calef. Vocally he was most impressive and his “Nessun dorma” ended with a triumphant flourish. The Chilean soprano Cristina Gallardo-Domas made her Royal Opera debut as Liu, a light lyrical role sung with great effect. She floated her lines in the great Italian tradition. The bass Willard White sang Timor and managed to bring out the pathos of the role. Rumanian conductor Christian Badea coaxed the best from this fine orchestra (the strings in Act II were especially lovely). This orchestra has a rich tradition, and over the past 40 years Georg Solti, Colin Davis and currently Bernard Haitink have served as directors.

London has seen many remarkable changes in its cultural landscape over the last few years with the construction of the Globe Theatre, the new Tate Gallery, the National Library, the redesigned British Museum and now the Royal Opera House. Judging from this operatic performance at the ROH, the vocal arts are also in top form.

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