[NEOPAL]An invitation: Why you will love Turandot.

Tue Mar 28 14:57:26 PST 2006

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Remember the scene in Pretty Woman when Julia Roberts gets all glammed up an=
d then gets all choked up at the beautiful music and tragedy of Madame Butte=
rfly?=20
=20
Or the scene in Moonstruck where Cher gets all glammed up and then gets all=20=
choked up at the beautiful music and tragedy of La Boheme?
=20
You can have your very own "glammed up and choked up moment" at a Puccini op=
era this weekend and next weekend at the State Theater.
=20
It's yet another opera by Puccini, Turandot. (Pronounced "Too-Ran-Dot")
=20
There's a reason people get all weepy at opera. It is Musical Theater on a g=
rand scale. This production features 64 adult choiristers, 20 children, 33 s=
upernumeraries, 9 principals and the best (in my opinion) and last opera tha=
t Puccini ever wrote. (He didn't actually quite finish it, he died. Someone=20=
else wrote the last 20 minutes based on sketches and previous material.)
=20
The story, briefly. In Peking, China, the Princess Turandot rules with an ir=
on fist. She is steadfastly unmarried in protest of the brutal rape and murd=
er of a former princess of the empire. She is so beautiful, however, that pr=
inces from all around come to woo her. She has set up a challenge: answer he=
r three riddles correctly and you will win her hand in marriage. Answer inco=
rrectly, and you will be beheaded by the royal executioner, Pu-Tin-Pao. As t=
he opera begins, the Prince of Persia has not succeeded in answering the rid=
dles correctly, and is sentenced to death. An unknown prince is wandering th=
e square as Turandot steps out of the palace to sentence the Prince of Persi=
a to death, and when the unknown prince sees her, he instantly falls in love=
 with her. He decides to take up the challenge for himself. He answers the r=
iddles correctly, much to Turandot's chagrin. The prince tells her he wants=20=
her to be with him willingly , so he will offer a riddle of his own. If she=20=
can find out his name before the dawn, he will submit to execution, otherwis=
e, she must marry him. She consents to the challenge. She sends out her roya=
l guards to search the country for someone who knows the name of the prince.=
 The famous aria "Nessun Dorma or None Shall Sleep" (sung at the opening of=20=
the Olympic Games by Pavorotti) is sung by the prince, eagerly awaiting his=20=
victory at dawn.=20
=20
I won't give away the ending of the opera here, but rather encourage you to=20=
come see it for yourself. Puccini is a wonderful first opera if you have nev=
er been, and thanks to modern technology, there is an English translation pr=
ojected over the stage so you can actually follow the story as it happens.
=20
And look for me if you come: I'll be one of the people of Peking, singing my=
 heart out in the chorus, and trying to stay in character and not have a "ch=
oked up moment" myself on stage..
=20
Sincerely,
Jennifer Woda
wodathorn at aol.com
=20
Ticket info at: www.clevelandopera.org
Remember you can get half price tickets the day of the show at the Cititix b=
ooth, as long as it isn't sold out.
Performances are March 31, April 2, April 7 and April 8.
=20
=20

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<HTML><BODY><DIV style=3D'font-family: "Verdana"; font-size: 10pt;'><DIV><o:=
SmartTagType name=3D"country-region" namespaceuri=3D"urn:schemas-microsoft-c=
om:office:smarttags" =3D""><o:SmartTagType name=3D"City" namespaceuri=3D"urn=
:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" =3D""><o:SmartTagType name=3D"place=
" namespaceuri=3D"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" =3D""><FONT fa=
ce=3D"Times New Roman" size=3D3><SPAN style=3D"FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Remember the=
 scene in Pretty Woman when Julia Roberts gets all glammed up and then gets=20=
all choked up at the beautiful music and tragedy of Madame Butterfly?<?xml:n=
amespace prefix =3D o ns =3D "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:=
p></o:p></SPAN></FONT>
<DIV id=3DAOLMsgPart_2_28e89175-34e6-4bee-90b7-5ca986210369>
<DIV class=3DSection1>
<DIV class=3DMsoNormal><FONT face=3D"Times New Roman" size=3D3><SPAN style=
=3D"FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=3DMsoNormal><FONT face=3D"Times New Roman" size=3D3><SPAN style=
=3D"FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Or the scene in Moonstruck where <?xml:namespace prefix=
 =3D st1 ns =3D "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:place w:=
st=3D"on">Cher</st1:place> gets all glammed up and then gets all choked up a=
t the beautiful music and tragedy of La Boheme?<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></DI=
V>
<DIV class=3DMsoNormal><FONT face=3D"Times New Roman" size=3D3><SPAN style=
=3D"FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=3DMsoNormal><FONT face=3D"Times New Roman" size=3D3><SPAN style=
=3D"FONT-SIZE: 12pt">You can have your very own "glammed up and choked up mo=
ment" at a Puccini opera this weekend and next weekend at the State Theater.=
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=3DMsoNormal><FONT face=3D"Times New Roman" size=3D3><SPAN style=
=3D"FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=3DMsoNormal><FONT face=3D"Times New Roman" size=3D3><SPAN style=
=3D"FONT-SIZE: 12pt">It's yet another opera by Puccini, Turandot. (Pronounce=
d "Too-Ran-Dot")<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=3DMsoNormal><FONT face=3D"Times New Roman" size=3D3><SPAN style=
=3D"FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=3DMsoNormal><FONT face=3D"Times New Roman" size=3D3><SPAN style=
=3D"FONT-SIZE: 12pt">There's a reason people get all weepy at opera. It is M=
usical Theater on a grand scale. This production features 64 adult choiriste=
rs, 20 children, 33 supernumeraries, 9 principals and the best (in my opinio=
n) and last opera that Puccini ever wrote. (He didn't actually quite finish=20=
it, he died. Someone else wrote the last 20 minutes based on sketches and pr=
evious material.)<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=3DMsoNormal><FONT face=3D"Times New Roman" size=3D3><SPAN style=
=3D"FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=3DMsoNormal><FONT face=3D"Times New Roman" size=3D3><SPAN style=
=3D"FONT-SIZE: 12pt">The story, briefly. In <st1:place w:st=3D"on"><st1:City=
 w:st=3D"on">Peking</st1:City>, <st1:country-region w:st=3D"on">China</st1:c=
ountry-region></st1:place>, the Princess Turandot rules with an iron fist. S=
he is steadfastly unmarried in protest of the brutal rape and murder of a fo=
rmer princess of the empire. She is so beautiful, however, that princes from=
 all around come to woo her. She has set up a challenge: answer her three ri=
ddles correctly and you will win her hand in marriage. Answer incorrectly, a=
nd you will be beheaded by the royal executioner, Pu-Tin-Pao. As the opera b=
egins, the Prince of Persia has not succeeded in answering the riddles corre=
ctly, and is sentenced to death. An unknown prince is wandering the square a=
s Turandot steps out of the palace to sentence the Prince of Persia to death=
, and when the unknown prince sees her, he instantly falls in love with her.=
 He decides to take up the challenge for himself. He answers the riddles cor=
rectly, much to Turandot's chagrin. The prince tells her he wants her to be=20=
with him willingly , so he will offer a riddle of his own. If she can find o=
ut his name before the dawn, he will submit to execution, otherwise, she mus=
t marry him. She consents to the challenge. She sends out her royal guards t=
o search the country for someone who knows the name of the prince. The famou=
s aria "Nessun Dorma or None Shall Sleep" (sung at the opening of the Olympi=
c Games by Pavorotti) is sung by the prince, eagerly awaiting his victory at=
 dawn. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=3DMsoNormal><FONT face=3D"Times New Roman" size=3D3><SPAN style=
=3D"FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=3DMsoNormal><FONT face=3D"Times New Roman" size=3D3><SPAN style=
=3D"FONT-SIZE: 12pt">I won't give away the ending of the opera here, but rat=
her encourage you to come see it for yourself. Puccini is a wonderful first=20=
opera if you have never been, and thanks to modern technology, there is an E=
nglish translation projected over the stage so you can actually follow the s=
tory as it happens.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=3DMsoNormal><FONT face=3D"Times New Roman" size=3D3><SPAN style=
=3D"FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=3DMsoNormal><FONT face=3D"Times New Roman" size=3D3><SPAN style=
=3D"FONT-SIZE: 12pt">And look for me if you come: I'll be one of the people=20=
of <st1:place w:st=3D"on">Peking</st1:place>, singing my heart out in the ch=
orus, and trying to stay in character and not have a "choked up moment" myse=
lf on stage..<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=3DMsoNormal><FONT face=3D"Times New Roman" size=3D3><SPAN style=
=3D"FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=3DMsoNormal><FONT face=3D"Times New Roman" size=3D3><SPAN style=
=3D"FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Sincerely,<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=3DMsoNormal><FONT face=3D"Times New Roman" size=3D3><SPAN style=
=3D"FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Jennifer Woda<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=3DMsoNormal><FONT face=3D"Times New Roman" size=3D3><SPAN style=
=3D"FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><A href=3D"mailto:wodathorn at aol.com">wodathorn at aol.com<=
/A></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=3DMsoNormal><FONT face=3D"Times New Roman" size=3D3><SPAN style=
=3D"FONT-SIZE: 12pt"></SPAN></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV class=3DMsoNormal><FONT face=3D"Times New Roman" size=3D3><SPAN style=
=3D"FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Ticket info at: <A href=3D"http://www.clevelandopera.or=
g">www.clevelandopera.org</A></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=3DMsoNormal><FONT face=3D"Times New Roman" size=3D3><SPAN style=
=3D"FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Remember you can get half price tickets the day of the=20=
show at the Cititix booth, as long as it isn't sold out.</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=3DMsoNormal><FONT face=3D"Times New Roman" size=3D3><SPAN style=
=3D"FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Performances are March 31, April 2, April 7 and April 8=
.</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=3DMsoNormal><FONT face=3D"Times New Roman" size=3D3><SPAN style=
=3D"FONT-SIZE: 12pt"></SPAN></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV class=3DMsoNormal><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2><SPAN style=3D"FONT-SIZE:=
 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></DIV></DIV></DIV>=
</o:SmartTa=
gType></o:SmartTagType></o:SmartTagType></DIV></DIV></BODY></HTML>

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