The fourth production of Ópera of Tenerife’s season navigates between the tradition and the reinterpretation presented by the stage director, Giuseppe Frigeni. Turandot will perform in 3 shows from March 19 to 23 at the Symphony Hall of Auditorio de Tenerife.

Ópera de Tenerife presented the production of Turandot, which will be staged at the Auditorio de Tenerife Adán Martín Symphony Hall. The performance will be on Tuesday 19, Thursday 21 and Saturday March 23, starting at 7:30 p.m. This work by Giacomo Puccini is one of the most represented titles of the composer. The Far East is the framework chosen by Puccini to develop the theme of what would be his posthumous work, with arias such as ‘Nessun dorma’, ‘In questa reggia’ or ‘Signore, ascolta’ that have surpassed the lyrical scenarios, incorporating themselves into the popular imagination.

The details of this production were announced by the insular director of Culture of the Cabildo, José Luis Rivero; the mayor of Ópera de Tenerife, Alejandro Abrante; the musical director, Giampaolo Bisanti, and the stage director, Giuseppe Frigeni.

José Luis Rivero said that “for this title, which has almost sold out in all three functions, we have the best possible cast”. “We have some exceptional guest artists, house regulars who do a magnificent job and the Auditorio de Tenerife team, which does an excellent job,” said the insular director. “We are proud of this title, which we really wanted to put on stage,” he said, adding that “this title left an imprint in its premiere that we will remember with this staging in Tenerife”.

Alejandro Abrante explained that “since opera seasons were held in Tenerife in 1965, until today, Turandot has performed three times: in 1991, 2007 and now, 2019.” These last two were at the Tenerife Auditorium in the Tenerife Opera season and under the direction of maestro Frigeni. “Turandot is a very complicated title because only in the choir there are 80 people, plus the orchestra and the rest of the cast and artists form a very large group,” acknowledged Abrante.

Giuseppe Frigeni thanked Ópera de Tenerife for the confidence they have placed in him and said that, “although he has already tackled this title here in 2007 there will be differences, to begin with, in the lights, but also in the interpretation”. The maestro explained that the quality of the cast’s artists and their predisposition has led to their being able to adapt the characters to their characteristics as singers. “They have been open to the conceptuality of the direction and that is something that usually does not happen and that will be noticed in the performance”, analyzed the teacher, who highlighted “the availability and generosity of the technical team of Auditorio de Tenerife, which is very unusual in today’s entertainment world. “

For this proposed scene from Turandot, Giuseppe Frigeni has tried to combine visual and non-striking visual elements, which let resonate what music evokes instead of illustrating it: transparencies and backlight effects, fluid glides of planes and dimensions, dynamic contrasts, ritualisms and some absorbing atmosphere. Even taking into account the oriental dimension of the context, he has preferred abstraction, avoiding the redundancy of exoticism or Chinese ornaments.

Maestro Giampaolo Bisanti, who is premiering at Ópera de Tenerife, emphasized the mutual respect and good energy that has flowed with maestro Frigeni, “which is rarely given between stage director and musical director in an opera”. “I want to make a personal thanks to Ópera de Tenerife because I have felt at home, as a family, and this unusual situation has occurred not only with the people around me in the theater but also in the city.” Bisanti acknowledged that there has been a bidirectional relationship with the Tenerife Symphony Orchestra, which he describes as “professional and disciplined.” “The people of Tenerife will be able to see a product of the highest level,” he promised.

© Rolando Paolo Guerzoni

The proposal of Ópera de Tenerife features the voices of Tiziana Caruso (Princess Turandot), Carlo Ventre (Calaf), Alexandra Grigoras (Liù), Carlo Malinverno (Timur), Blagoj Nacoski (Altoum); Alfonso Mujica, Biao Li and David Astorga (Ping, Pong and Pang, respectively), Aleksandr Utkin (a mandarin), Néstor Gálvan (Prince of Persia) and María José Torres and Sara Ingrid Acosta (maidens).

The costume will be in charge of the costume designer, Amélie Haas, where she finds the main inspiration in the design of the costumes for this production, in the sobriety and purity of the oriental aesthetic, especially the Japanese one; in accordance with the intentions and principles of the aesthetic and dramaturgical direction, and with the formal approach of the set, with costumes that can inhabit the stage space, as simple abstract forms and pure and not didactic.

The performances will take place on Tuesday 19, Thursday 21 and Saturday 23 and will start at 7:30 p.m. in the Auditorium Symphony Hall of Tenerife. Tickets can be purchased in the usual channels of Tenerife Auditorium, at the box office from 10:00 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., from Monday to Saturday; through the website www.auditoriodetenerife.com or by phone at 902 317 327.