I was able to fulfill one of my bucket list items last week when Kate and I attended a first-class production of Puccini's spectacular opera, Turandot.
What I know about opera and art could be written on the head of a pin; however, I know what I like and I have liked Turandot for a very long time. I first became aware of the opera indirectly when I saw the remarkable movie, "The Killing Fields." In that powerful film there is a scene in which Sam Waterston's character is watching the news in his New York City apartment. The news broadcast is filled with disturbing images of the bombing of Cambodia, referring to that chapter of the Vietnam War as "the Nixon doctrine in its purest form." In the background you hear the remarkable aria "Nessun Dorma" from Turandot. The juxtaposition of this incredible music and some very brutal images was unforgettable, and it wasn't long before I was on a mission to discover all I could about the song and its origins.
This was long before the personal computer age, so I had to depend on person to person questioning for an answer. Luckily, I had made the acquaintance of one Mr. David Dames, a British friend who was quite well-versed in all genres of classical music. Sadly, David is no longer with us and, if nothing else, this blog has brought his pleasant smile and kind gentility back to me for an evening, a nice little unexpected benefit of the blogosphere.
Anyway, I tried to hum what I remembered of the little bit of Nessun Dorma I had heard in the movie. David answered immediately. "That's from 'Annie Get Your Gun' he said assuredly. Just kidding. He knew exactly what the source of the music was. From that moment on, I was determined to listen to and soak up all the music in Puccini's Turandot just like I used to do when I was a kid and had bought a new jazz album. I would sit and listen to those jazz records until the grooves wore out. I would memorize every note, every solo, every drum beat, everything. I bought a recording of Turandot featuring Pavarotti and Joan Sutherland and immediately began the process of familiarizing myself with every note. I purposely didn't want to learn the story, preferring instead to fill in my own version of events based on what the music "said" to me. The following is my version of the "story" of Turandot based on my interpretation of the music I memorized:
Turandot is a princess who wants to leave her country and her throne and open the first Home Depot east of the Yangtze River. Her beautiful aria "Where are the Plumbing Supplies?" speaks to this yearning. Naturally, to fulfill this dream she needs financing but money is tight. In an effort to raise capital, she teams up with Calaf, a Persian hummus salesman. Together, they travel throughout the near and far east selling hummus under the most trying of conditions. These are the circumstances which lead to the singing of Calaf's beautiful soliloquoy, "I'm so thirsty; please, no more hummus."
OK, enough of this goofiness. The actual story is quite convoluted as befits most grand operas. It's one of those "Ice Princess won't bed any suitor unless he is willing to risk his life and answer three riddles whereupon the suitor answers the riddles correctly but, out of pity and to prove his honorable intentions, offers up his own life anyway if the Ice Princess can discover his name before morning," stories. Nessun Dorma ("Let them sleep") is sung by the lead tenor (Calaf) and is heard in the third act. In an effort to discover her suitor's name, Princess Turandot has decreed that no one in her city may sleep until the name has been revealed to her. Puccini died before he was able to finish the opera and the ending, written by colleagues, is a little weak and not really worthy of what went before; however, by the time you get to that point, you're so filled with spectacular music, sets, costumes, wine, and love that you'd just as soon let all that go and stand and applaud loudly which Kate and I and the other people in attendance at Pensacola's wonderful Saenger Theater did enthusiastically.
Next year the Pensacola Opera Company is producing Madame Butterfly and Rigolleto. Looks like I'll be doing more memorizing in the coming months.
Ain't life grandiose?
j
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