Welsh National Opera is a company which is capable of pulling off that neatest of theatrical tricks, namely attracting not only the inevitable hordes of operatic purists who flock to opera productions in their droves(as evinced by the plethora of Volvos, BMWs and 4x4s in the car park on the evening of each performance) but also those relative newcomers to the genre to whom the surtitles, explanatory programmes, pre-show talks and allied projects such as Opera Explore are an ideal introduction to an art form usually regarded as scary and intimidating.
Opera is hard work, of that there is little doubt - but it can be ahugely rewarding and energising experience, and is well worth the effort.
Puccini's Turandot was originally staged in 1926, and this production brings the story slap bang into the 21st century with the aid of stylised costumes and a peculiarly stark set designed by Paul Steinberg.
The tale is set in what the programme notes describe as "Peking, in legendary times" and revolves around Princess Turandot, who promises to wed any man who can answer three riddles... the snag, of course (you're way ahead of me)is that the riddles are impossible to answer. The problem for Turandot's suitors is that this is not The Weakest Link and if they answer the questions incorrectly they face not the walk of shame but a one-way ticket to the executioner's block.
Turandot is portrayed here by Francesca Patanč, a performer whose cosmopolitan background and former incarnation as a fashion model contribute greatly to her undoubted physical presence. But it is her voice - pure, ringing and crystalline - which raises her performance to the level of perfection, and she is ably supported by her fellow artists, all of whom contribute to the overwhelming success of this polished and gripping production.
The role of Calaf, the Unknown Prince, is played by Rafael Rojas, whose task it is to perform that classiest of football anthems not Vindaloo, but Nessun Dorma, the one piece of opera that everyone seems to recognise thanks to its role in the 1990 World Cup. Rarely has it sounded finer, sung here with such power and depth that it wrings the very soul.
A word of praise, too, for Olga Mykytenko's stunning performance as the servant girl Lių - a pivotal role, beautifully fleshed out by this striking and talented artist.
Turandot's ministers - Ping, Pang and Pong, played by Matthew Hargreaves, Philip Lloyd Holtam and Anthony Mee - receive the Hot Mikado treatment here, with the trio dressed in sharp zoot suits in garish primary colours, those same colours being mirrored in the decoration of their office desks.
This is an immensely satisfying staging of a piece whose fairytale elements are toned down by the robust and muscular treatment: no bad thing, and if newcomers are attracted to future WNO productions as a direct result of having watched this then it will have done its job admirably.
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