Puccini: Turandot
Wiener Staatsoper, 7th December 2023
Who is Turandot? An ice princess from Chinese fairytale? Forget that in Claus Guth’s outstanding new staging for the Wiener Staatsoper. Never one to deal in kitsch or cliché, Guth has no place for Chinese lanterns or dragons. Instead, he focuses on the psychology of the protagonists in a highly symbolic reading that signals Sigmund Freud and Franz Kafka more than the Far East. Throw in a pair of role debuts – Asmik Grigorian as Turandot and Jonas Kaufmann as Calaf – and Vienna was abuzz with anticipation on opening night.
Jonas Kaufmann (Calaf) and Asmik Grigorian (Turandot)
© Monika Rittershaus