Review: Turandot (Opera Australia)

Score: ★★★★1/2

Reviewed on Friday 27th March, 2026 at the Sydney Opera House

by Nikhil Deo

Opera Australia’s refreshed production of Puccini’s gargantuan Turandot is the evidence we all needed that opera is still very much alive and well (ahem Timothée Chalamet).

Despite a relatively minimalistic set for what is usually such a grandiose world, director and choreographer Ann Yee finds a strikingly new way to illuminate and transform intergenerational pain into love for Turandot. The decision to open the production with Hoyori Maruo embodying the anguish of Lou-Ling — quite literally dancing herself to death — before forging that visceral connection to Turandot (played by the commanding Anna-Louise Cole) is inspired. Nothing needed to be explained. Everything was communicated clearly through dance and physical drama. After only a few moments — though it felt longer in the best possible way — the brass of the Opera Australia Orchestra erupt, hurling the audience headlong into the spectacular world of Turandot.

Andrew Thomas Huang’s video design gave both the production and Turandot herself a commanding presence. Turandot may be unseen, but she is omnipresent, and the way the visuals “comment on” or respond to the music and libretto adds a powerful emotional layer. This element felt notably more effective than in the previous Graeme Murphy production (which I loved, by the way — and a large part of why Turandot remains my favourite opera).

Part of my enduring love for this opera lies in the balance Puccini achieves — and masters — in pacing and dramatic tension. I was fortunate to attend this production with a friend who had never experienced opera, or even classical art, before. In some moments, however, the physical staging felt almost too restrained, offering little assistance in clarifying the action that is otherwise made crystal clear through the music and libretto. From this perspective, I understood why my friend had a few questions about what was unfolding onstage. I suppose that’s why we have programs. One section in particular — from Rosario La Spina’s triumphant “Nessun dorma” through to Jennifer Black’s raw and devastating death as Liù — felt visually under-articulated despite its musical power.

That said, as someone who loves this opera deeply — to the point of practically sleeping with the score under my arm for an entire year — this production revealed fresh nuance in the libretto that I hadn’t fully appreciated before. The minimalistic staging draws focus squarely back to the music, allowing Puccini’s writing to speak with greater clarity. It’s a gift that Sydney audiences can experience such a familiar work reimagined in a new way. It deepens understanding and makes you fall in love with the opera all over again.

Tahu Matheson had a formidable task, and he rose to it with confidence and control. Coordinating a vast orchestra alongside a stellar cast and chorus — from pit to the very heights of the stage — is no small feat. Simon Meadows, Iain Henderson, and Virgilio Marino were excellent as Ping, Pang, and Pong.

Bravi a tutti. I’m already looking forward to coming down from Brisbane for the next production.

Richard Anderson as Timur, Maria Teresa Leva as Liù, Gregory Brown as Emperor, Rebecca Nash as Turandot and Young Woo Kim as Calaf in Opera Australia’s production of Turandot 2026 © Keith Saunders