Andrea Breth transformed her late debut at the Frankfurt Opera on Sunday evening into a veritable triumph of musical theatre. Celebrated with a standing ovation, the 73-year-old legendary director, in seamless collaboration with General Music Director Thomas Guggeis, presented her compelling political interpretation of Puccini's "Turandot".

"Turandot"

Supported by three Japanese Noh dancers, she forces the choirs and soloists into Turandot's masked, ritualized, and consistently portrayed unfreedom. In this torso-like version, the final appearance does not belong to the tyrannical princess, but to the compassionate slave Liù after her suicide aria. The commissioned work "Io tacerò" by Lucia Ronchetti, premiered at the beginning and presented as a prelude to this premiere, already alludes to Liù's later sacrificial death with its impressively stammered choral lament.

Correspondingly, Johannes Leiacker bathed the stage in a minimalist black and white, depicting human cages, prison escapes, and perpetual interrogation scenes. With role debutante Elza van den Heever in the title role and Alfred Kim as Calaf, two international singing stars made a triumphant return to their former home theater. Meanwhile, Guanqun Yu impressively succeeded in authenticating the profound humanity of Liù amidst the killing machine. Choreographed as Kafkaesque desk murderers, ensemble members Liviu Holender, Magnus Dietrich, and Michael Porter (Ping, Pang, and Pong) delivered outstanding role debuts. The Frankfurt Opera and Museum Orchestra, dazzling with glittering darkness, and the excellently prepared chorus, children's chorus, and extra chorus also garnered great acclaim.

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