Review: The Met Revives Zeffirelli's Classic "Turandot"

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Game Cast Headed by Monastyrska and Alagna, Grigorian and Peixin, under Maestro Lyniv

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I’d say that “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” is not a maxim that has ever been used for Puccini’s Chinese-inspired fairytale, TURANDOT, which returned for another go-around at the Met the other day with two alternating casts. (I saw it with Liudmyla Monastyrska, Roberto Alagna and Juliana Grigoryan in the main roles.)

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The reason: The Composer died before it was finished. He’d fully composed and orchestrated the first two acts, up to Liù's death and funeral cortege and left over 30 pages of sketches for the rest. (Even before his death, Puccini wasn’t happy with the ending by librettists Giuseppe Adami and Renato Simoni.)

But even though he’d mapped out his intentions for the rest, and his publisher and family had chosen a composer, Franco Alfano, to put it all together, no one seems to think they’ve gotten it right, and maybe it was "broke." That feeling started with Arturo Toscannini, who conducted the premiere at La Scala and made a point of telling exactly where “the maestro put down his pen” and didn’t perform the opera’s finale by Alfano.

The most recent attempt at completion was commissioned by Francesca Zambello at the Washington National Opera (before it became yet another pawn in the current regime’s plans for making the town over in its questionable image.) She chose a pair of Asian-American composer/librettists—Christopher Tin and Susan Soon He Stanton—to complete it without making it faux Puccini. Despite a good reception, the latest ending hasn’t yet caught on.

How did the performance I saw, under revival director J. Knighten Smit, fare? I’d give it a thumb’s up. Sure, the Zeffirelli production, with his own stage design and lighting by Gill Wechsler, was still over the top, but it looked great, thanks to a refurbishment from donor C Grahahm Berwind, III. The choreography by Chiang Ching worked seamlessly.

Yes, the traditional ending was musically a little clumsy and abrupt, and Met has taken some steps to see that some of the libretto’s more egregious actions have been toned down. But that didn’t seem to bother a large chunk of the audience, who were perfectly happy to be watching the grand sets and costumes (by Anna Anni and Dada Saligeri), bathed in the warmth of Puccini’s gorgeous melodies. (These included “ Nessun dorma ,” the evergreen tenor aria, “ In questa reggia ,” Turandot’s introduction, and “ Tu che di gel sei sinta ” for Liu’s death in Act III, among many other glorious moments.)

When tenor Roberto Alagna first came on the scene, opposite his then-wife Angela Gheorghiu, his PR machine worked overtime on billing him as “the Fourth Tenor” (i.e., after Pavarotti, Domingo and Carreras) and it did him no favors. He wasn’t there yet, though he was unquestionably a good singer.

Now in his 60s, as the Calaf in the cast I heard in TURANDOT, he was in better voice than I’d heard him in quite a while, and the audience swooned during his showcase, “ Nessun dorma .” He was firm, all his money notes (or nearly all) were in place, and his swagger showed all the confidence that he needed opposite the Ice Princess of Monastyrska.

I wished that Monastyrska—who was a powerhouse the last time I heard her, as Abigaille in NABUCCO--had been more formidable, though she had all the notes the role demanded. There was something missing: She had neither the stainless steel delivery of the Birgit Nilsson mold of this character nor the smooth (yet weighty enough) lyric quality of a Montserrat Caballe or, most recently in my experience, Asmik Grigorian.

Consequently, she didn’t take hold of the stage during the crucial part of Act 2, surrounding the Riddle scene. She was better when her heart began to melt after Liu’s great aria “ Tu che di gel sei sinta .” (I preferred the more sumptuous performance of Anna Pirozzi, which I heard on the Met’s radio broadcast two days later.)

Soprano Juliana Grigoryan (no relation to Asmik Grigorian) was a splendid Liu, wringing every bit of pathos out of her Act 3 aria, “ Tu che di gel sei sinta,” along with her beautiful rendition of her earlier aria, “ Signore ascolta! ” during which she begs Calaf not to risk his life to win Turandot. She played well off the performance of bass Peixin Chen as Timur, Calaf’s father, who was a poignant presence throughout.

The roles of Ping, Pang and Pong, the three court ministers based on Italian commedia dell’arte characters, have been toned down in recent years as culturally insensitive. (Some productions delete their untoward names, only giving them titles.)

The three singers here, walked the fine, more dignified line surely. Tenors Rodell Rosel and Martin Luther Clark, in his Met debut, and baritone Youngjun Park, another debut artist, did fine work, particularly in the opening of Act 2. (Their body doubles in the court scenes, involving dancing and other action, referred to as “Three Masks,” were well performed by Elliott Reiland, Ilis Pankratov and Amir Levy.) Tenor Thomas Capobianco did well as Turandot’s father, Emperor Altoum.

The Met orchestra, under Lyniv, was in fine form, as were the multitudes in the chorus under Tilman Michael.

Caption: The finale, with different cast

Credit: Ken Howard/Met Opera

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_Originally reported by [BroadwayWorld](https://www.broadwayworld.com/bwwopera/article/Review-TURANDOT-Returns-for-Another-Go-Around-at-the-Met-in-Classic-Zeffirelli-Production-20260524)._