turandot.

opera last night was quite good.

a quick rundown of the plot:
there is a princess by the name of Turandot. she is unmarried. there are many suitors but she is not interested in getting married to any of them. in order to avoid marriage, she poses 3 questions to the eligible bachelor. if and only if he answers all 3 questions correctly can the bachelor marry. if he answers any of the questions incorrectly he is beheaded.

we are introduced to Calaf (the male lead) just as the prince of Persia is about to be decapitated. Calaf is a prince in exile from Tartary. despite warnings from everyone around him including his father (Timur) and his father's salve (Liu) - who has a crush on Calaf, he proceeds to strike the gong 3 times to signal that he is a willing contestant.

he answers the three questions correctly:
1. what is born each night and dies each dawn? hope.
2. what flickers red and warm like a flame, yet is not fire? blood.
3. what is like ice but burns? Turandot!
surprised, Turandot begs her father not to give her away to this stranger. Calaf in hopes of winning her over offers her a question of his own - what is his name? if she answers correctly, then no marriage and Calaf is beheaded. if her answer is incorrect, they get married.

many try to bribe Calaf but to no avail. eventually they capture Timur and Liu. as they are about to torture Timur for the answers, Liu cries out that she is the only one that knows this "stranger's" identity. but that she won't reveal it. she then commits suicide to keep the secret.

everyone else goes to bury Liu. but Turandot stays to comfort Calaf. they embrace and Turandot feels emotion for the first time. Calaf confident that he won't be beheaded, tells her his identity and gives her the power to decide what to do with him. when the time comes to announce the identity of the stranger, despite knowing his real name she says... "his name is... LOVE!" (pretty cheesy i know!)

so he lives and they live happily ever after. :)

*****
overall the production was good. i really enjoyed it. but i gotta say that the male lead and female lead were overshadow by a great performance by Hye Seoung Kwon as Liu. Marian Talaba's (Calaf) rendition of Nessum Dorma was unimpressive at best. :( and i swear, i'm not being biased because she was korean. she was actually VERY good. and it was clear by the audience reaction when the performers were out for their curtain call. had a good time. much better than miss saigon last year.