Puccini: Turandot (Bregenz Festival 2015, Directed by: Marelli)

The Bregenzer Festspiele are not yet over, and already the recording of this year's Bregenzer opera premiere "Turandot" is available. From the aria that thrills the masses ("Nessun Dorma") to the thrillingly beautiful plot centered on the initially bloodthirsty, then tenderly passionate princess and her death-defying suitor: "Turandot" undoubtedly offers everything a dramatic opera needs. And in the once again spectacular setting of the Bregenzer Seebühne, where a giant "Chinese Wall" in the form of a dragon was created using state-of-the-art methods and the highest technical effort, everything looks more opulent and pompous than ever before. The press has been consistently enthusiastic since the premiere in Bregenz - ...about everything! About the singers, the production, the set design, the orchestra, the atmosphere. And it is no wonder: opera is once again becoming a spectacle for the masses in Bregenz, emphasizing the real, overwhelming visual appeal of this art form. And - let's be honest - this is much closer to the Baroque conception of the historically first operas than many sober productions of the rampant postmodernism.