Some in the audience seemed to love him, but his style left me cold. Berti's acting style can be categorized squarely as park and bark: He strikes a pose and belts like Ethel Merman. Rarely have I heard the famous aria "Nessun dorma" ("None shall sleep"), sometimes jokingly referred to as "Opera's National Anthem," with so little feeling for the words. (He starred opposite Nina Stemme in last season's Metropolitan Opera production of the opera.) His voice is a large instrument, but a blunt onehe has no difficulty summoning a large font of sound, but in doing so, he sacrifices subtlety or connection to the text. Calaf is sung here by Marco Berti, who has performed the role in many major opera houses. Much of the opera centers around Calaf, the exiled prince who will eventually conquer Turandot's heart after correctly answering the three riddles. The idea that Turandot will submit herself to love in the final act becomes believable. This is not just a poignant choice, but a smart one, because it justifies the journey Turandot herself will take throughout the course of the opera. Yet Goerke pauses and shudders before eventually relenting and sending the prince to his doom. I've seen several sopranos use this as an excuse to employ silent movie, "off with his head" gestures meant to signify Turandot's cruelty. Turandot makes a silent appearance to approve his execution.
At the top of the first act, the Prince of Persia has failed the test. She avenges the death of her ancestor, Princess Lou-Ling, by killing the royal men who seek her hand in marriage if they cannot answer her three riddles. Perhaps the most impressive aspect of Goerke's performance, though, is how she acts the role. It was nice, for once, to hear the role performed by a singer with a larger instrument that she could fully control. In recent years, Turandot has often become the provenance of over the hill sopranos with large but unwieldy voices.
Most wonderfully, Goerkewho began her career as a Mozart and Handel specialist before taking on heavier assignmentsretains much of the exquisite vocal control that her early roles required. Hers is a plush sound, which easily fills the Academy of Music and soars above Maestro Corrado Rovaris' orchestra. At the performance I attended, she needed most of "In questa reggia" to warm up her voice, but by the middle of act two, she was firing on all cylinders. In that respect, I would describe Goerke's performance as a heroic effort. To some, the role might seem like more work than it's worth. Turandot's famous aria, "In questa reggia" ("In this palace"), is one of the most difficult pieces of music in the modern repertoire, and the soprano sings it the first moment she walks onstage in act two. It requires only about thirty minutes of singing over the course of a nearly three-hour opera, yet the tessitura requires a soprano with the dexterity to shift from punishingly high notes to a luxurious lower register within a single aria.
The role of Turandot is short but difficult. In the interim, she has become one of the most sought after dramatic sopranos in the United States and abroad. Once a frequent guest artist with the company, Goerke has not appeared at the Academy of Music since 2008. In a casting coup, Christine Goerke sings the title role. Opera Philadelphia opens its 2016-2017 season with a revival of Puccini's final opera, Turandot, directed and choreographed by Renaud Doucet. Photo by Kelly & Massa for Opera Philadelphia Review by Cameron Kelsall | Season ScheduleĪlso see Rebecca's reviews of Stupid Fucking Bird and South Pacific
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