FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - February 7, 2024
OPERADELAWARE ANNOUNCED STAR-STUDDED CAST FOR TURANDOT AND A NEW ENDING FROM SCALIA/GINSBURG COMPOSER DERRICK WANG
WILMINGTON, Del. - Puccini’s unfinished masterpiece Turandot includes some of opera’s most beloved and impressive arias, including “Nessun dorma,” “In questa reggia,” and “Tu che di gel sei cinta.” The story of the ice princess, Turandot, who challenges potential suitors with three riddles in an attempt to win her hand, came from François Pétis de la Croix’s book Les Mille et un jours (A Thousand and One Days). It was then adapted by Italian playwright Carlo Gozzi in 1762 and Friedrich Schiller in 1801, which was the inspiration for Puccini’s masterful opera.
Puccini was so enamored with Schiller’s play that he began composing the opera before the libretto, or the text of the opera, was completed. He received a music box from China that played folk melodies, and he incorporated those melodies into his opera. In total, eight of the musical themes from Turandot were derived from traditional Chinese music and anthems. He strove for authenticity, even commissioning a set of 13 custom-made gongs for the premiere.
But the opera was left unfinished when Puccini died of a heart attack in 1924. Prior to his death, he implored his friend and legendary Italian conductor Arturo Toscanini, “Don’t let my Turandot die.”
The composer Franco Alfano completed Puccini’s final opera, but at the premier at La Scala opera house in Milan in 1926, it has been said that Toscanini laid down his baton at the podium during the final act, turned to the audience, and said, “Here the maestro laid down his pen.”
Alfano’s contribution to Turandot has become a standard practice, but opera is a living artform and the opportunity to collaborate on the creation of a new ending was irresistible for OperaDelaware General Director Brendan Cooke.
“Turandot is one of the most magnificent works that Puccini penned. The ending that we have accepted as standard practice for many years is a bit of a let-down,” said Brendan Cooke, OperaDelaware’s General Director. “As we approach the 100th anniversary of the premiere of this towering work, it just feels like the right time to revisit this ending with a fresh perspective. Choosing a composer to take on this task was an easy decision for us - after the smashing success of his opera Scalia/Ginsburg and the thrill of workshopping his new opera Fearless last spring - we knew that composer Derrick Wang would be a perfect fit.”
When Derrick Wang was enlisted to create a new ending based on Puccini’s original sketches, he was eager to join this production with OperaDelaware.
“When OperaDelaware invited me to create a revised ending to Turandot — one that would newly connect the heart of Puccini’s original sketches to the excitement of Alfano’s finale — I was intrigued,” said composer Derrick Wang. “To explore Puccini’s potent musical ideas, to uncover the connections between them, and to shed new light on the original text: for a musical dramatist and forensic musicologist, what better challenge could there be? By developing a character-driven musical narrative open to multiple interpretations, I hope to unlock new possibilities for the future of this thought-provoking classic.”
To bring this production to life, OperaDelaware has engaged an all-star cast. Soprano Michelle Johnson will star as the title character, the formidable princess Turandot. Johnson has received praise for her “magnetic immediacy thanks to clean vocal lines and word coloring that made her singing speak in beautifully formed musical sentences” by The Philadelphia Inquirer. Johnson is a graduate of the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia, a Grand Prize winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, and has built her career as an in-demand diva, specializing in Verdi and Puccini heroines.
As Calaf, the Unknown Prince, OperaDelaware is delighted to welcome tenor John Pickle back to Wilmington. Pickle last sang with OperaDelaware in the Al Fresco Arias series in 2021, having performed the roles of Canio in Pagliacci and Turiddu in Cavalleria Rusticana with OperaDelaware in 2012. Pickle has been praised by Opera News for his “gleaming tenor,” and by the Toledo Blade as “artistically moving to the point of drawing tears.” A frequent leading man, Pickle has made a career singing Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly, Rodolfo in La bohème, and Cavaradossi in Tosca, among many others, proving his expertise in Puccini’s repertoire.
Soprano Karen Vuong makes her OperaDelaware debut as the unwavering and dutiful Liù, whose love and loyalty to Calaf will ultimately cost her everything. Vuong has recently sung the title role in Rusalka with Portland Opera, Mimi in La bohème at Seattle Opera, and Maya Lin in the world premiere of Huang Ruo’s opera The Rift at Washington National Opera to name a few of her successes. Vuong is a graduate of the Juilliard School and the LA Opera’s prestigious Domingo-Thornton Young Artist Program.
Chinese Bass Zaikuan Song will round out the principal cast as Calaf’s father, the deposed King Timur. Song is recognized for his majestically resonant bass voice and keen dramatic instinct, as seen in his performances as The King and Ramfis in Aida, Commendatore in Don Giovanni, Banco in Macbeth, and Sarastro in The Magic Flute. He makes his Opera Delaware debut, having performed the role of Timur in Turandot previously with Opera Southwest and Opera Grand Rapids. Song is a graduate of Michigan State University and China Conservatory of Music.
Leading the intrepid cast from the pit will be Maestro Anthony Barrese, who has served as OperaDelaware’s Music Director since 2017. Among his notable triumphs with the company are the East Coast premiere of his reconstructed version of Franco Faccio’s Amleto to international acclaim in 2016, and more recently conducting Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro in 2002 in OD’s return to the opera house after the pandemic. Director Xinxin Tang will make her OperaDelaware debut, having established her international directing career in productions of Turandot, L’elisir D’amore, Carmen, and Tosca (to name a few).
Turandot will open on Friday, May 17 at The Grand following the Opening Night Microgala. The closing performance will be on Sunday, May 19 at 2 PM. Tickets are available for purchase at operaDE.org. OperaDelaware will present the final dress rehearsal of Turandot on May 15 and schools are invited to attend, in a limited capacity. To attend the student dress rehearsal, please contact Kerriann Otaño at kotano@operaDE.org.
Tickets: https://operade.my.salesforce-sites.com/ticket#/
Website: www.operade.org/2324-turandot
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More information:
Michelle Johnson, soprano: https://www.michellejohnsonsoprano.com/
John Pickle, tenor: https://www.johnpickle.com/
Karen Vuong, soprano: https://karenvuong.com/
Zaikuan Song, bass: https://www.zaikuansong.com/
About OperaDelaware: OperaDelaware, now in its 78th season, is a professional non-profit opera company with a reputation for excellence in both opera and arts education. OperaDelaware opens the door to bold, vibrant and creative operatic programming that enriches the community, transforms audiences, and encourages dialogue.
MEDIA RELATIONS
Press contact: For interview requests, please email Kerriann Otaño at kotano@operade.org or call 302-442-7812.
Organizational images: Available for download here.
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