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The title role of "Turandot" requires at minimum a soprano voice able to give out the imperious cries of the cruel Chinese Princess with trumpet-like power. If the two-dimensional character of Turandot can somehow in addition, be projected with more than a bulldozer's nuances, all the better. But penetrating power is the first requisite, the one upon which renowned Turandots of the past have built. Ghena Dimitrova, who made her Metropolitan Opera debut last evening in this vocally punishing part, had something convincingly like a trumpet at her disposal in her highest register, which frequently aroused the audience to excited applause. The voice, mostly built of head tones and glottal stops could weaken lower down, lose quality and stray out of focus.

The Bulgarian soprano fortified the impression she had previously made in concert operas here and in fully mounted performances elsewhere; hers is a big, tireless, anything-but-seductive voice that is able to hold its own against the brassiest orchestral and choral climaxes. The first impression as she began "In questa reggia" was of distressing hardness, but by the time the aria was over one could not help but admire the voice's cutting edge. It is a major instrument in that respect, at least. One of the questions that Turandot puts to Cal?f in her deadly quiz game is "What is like ice but burns?" The correct reply is "Turandot," but in terms of her voice an equally plausible answer could be "dry ice." At its imposing best, the tone evokes that smoky refrigerant.

Photograph of Ghena Dimitrova as Turandot by Winnie Klotz / Metropolitan Opera.

Search by season: 1987-88

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