Turandot Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour - a most wonderful night

Turandot is the latest Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour to wow audiences in Sydney.

Even though my knowledge about opera is about zero, I went along on Sunday and had a most wonderful night out.

What is remarkable about this opera is that it is not performed under the sails of the Sydney Opera House, but on a specially built stage that floats on Sydney Harbour.

It is only being performed for a short season of a month. It has already received high praise from not only Sydney-siders, but people who have travelled from other parts of Australia and other countries to see it.

This production of Turandot, which was written by Puccini, is set in China. Is done on massive scale.

There are 78 in the cast, with 12 principal singers, 48 chorus members, 18 dancers. There are more than 300 people who work on site for each performance, and more than 150 volunteers.

The Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra, conducted by Brian Castles-Onion, provides the stirring music for Turandot. The 58 members of the orchestra are heard but not seen. The orchestra consists of strings, wind, brass and percussion, and even includes 13 tuned Chinese gongs. They are housed in a special studio built for them under the stage and floating on the water.

The songs and arias in Turandot are a pleasure to listen to, whether sung as a solo, duet or by the chorus members. Puccini based some of them on Chinese folk melodies that he first heard in a music box.

The elaborate costumes help create the Chinese atmosphere. 1,000 metres of specially crinkled organza was used in one of the sets of costumes. I particularly liked the Chinese soldiers' costumes and the Princess's costumes. There are 187 hats and headdresses, 46 wigs and 30 sets of facial hair. A lot of time must be spent preparing the singers and dancers to get them ready each night before they go on stage.

The dancing segments, choreographed by Chen Shi-Zheng, fill the stage with the grace of the female dancers and with the action and precision of the soldier dancers with their swords.

There are 65 kilometres of power, data and audio cable used on the venue and stage. There are also spectacular fireworks set off over the water at an appropriate point in the opera.

The sound is delivered from 223 speakers so that everyone can hear the singing and the music. Credit for the sound production is due to Tony David Cray, the sound engineer. The vocals were clear and music loud, though sometimes I thought the amplification was a bit harsh on the ears.

The sloping stage is huge. It was built by a team of 150 people over 22 days. The stage is lit up by 220 lamps that highlight either the action on stage or flood the stage in various colours. Scott Zielinski, the lighting designer, has done a brilliant job (excuse the pun) lighting the singers and dancers. In our modern day computer based world, the lighting was supplemented by video projections designed by Leigh Sachwitz and flora&faunavisions.

The main lead characters roles in Turandot are so demanding that they are played by two people on differing nights. Turandot, the Princess is played by Dragnana Radakovic and Daria Masierol, Calef, an exiled Mongolian Prince, is played by Riccardo Massi and Arnold Rawis, Liu is played by Hyeseoung Kwon and Eva Kong, and the Prince of Persia played by Jin Tea Kim and Dean Bassett. Timur is played by Conal Coad, the Emperor by David Lewis, and the Mandarin by Gennadi Dubinsky. Pong, Pang and Ping, who appear to be the light comic relief characters of the opera, are played by John Longmuir, Benjamin Rasheed and Luke Gabbedy. It takes some getting used to to see the mainly Australian singers dressed in Chinese clothes singing in Italian. (The songs are sub-titled so you can understand what the singing is about.) The standout performer on the night I attended was Lui whose singing and emotional acting were exceptional.

The singing, music and dancing were all great. However, for me the star of Turandot Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour is the stage setting with its two key features of a Chinese dragon and Chinese pagoda. The huge dragon head was carved out of polystyrene blocks, firstly by computer programmed machines, then by a team of people who hand carved the heads finer features. The body of the dragon also doubles as the Great Wall of China, on which video projections are shone. The eyes of the dragon light up green, smoke blows from its nostrils, and fire is breathed from its mouth. The pagoda is 18 metre tall and is a mixture of the ancient and modern in its styling. It sort of looks like a gigantic Dalek from Dr Who, and as the opera progresses its various panels open up to reveal the singing cast members. The huge crane also featured as it enabled the props and singers to glide and hover over the stage.

The Stage Director, Chen Shi-Zheng, has succeeded in infusing new blood and putting a new interpretation on Puccini's classic story. He has incorporated Chinese elements, visual vocabulary and dance movement to give this production a sense of authenticity to enhance the music and drama of this opera.

The people sitting around me were highly impressed with what they saw and heard on stage. The most common comment I heard when people were talking about this production of Turandot Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour was "Wonderful!" And that it is. All the various elements combine together to make a visual and musical night of entertainment.

The only negatives I heard was that some of the singers faces, when high above the stage, could not be seen by audience members sitting on the side seats. This happened when the large arms of the throne suspended by a crane blocked the face of the Emperor and when the white balls on top of the two pedestals in front of the Princess blocked her face when she was on top of the ramp that projected out from the Pagoda. Perhaps the arms of the throne could have been smaller, and the two pedestals placed at the side of the Princess, rather than in front of her, so that all the audience could see.

Turandot Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour is only on to the 24 of April. I strongly suggest that you book your seat now so that you do not miss out on seeing this wonderful opera production. Even if you have never seen an opera before, come along and enjoy a pleasing night out under the stars on the edge of Sydney Harbour.

Turandot Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour

Presented by: Opera Australia
Where: Mrs Macquaries Point, Sydney, Australia
When: until 24 April
Bookings: http://www.ticketmaster.com.au/Handa-Opera-On-Sydney-Harbour-tickets
Website: https://turandot-on-sydney-harbour