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The problem comes when the line is crossed between splendor and risibility. The troublesome answers to Turandot's three riddles are contained in pennants attached to the back of her gleaming aqua dress; as Calaf gives the correct ; answers, her minions unfurl the flags. Too tricky by far, and the opening night audience just laughed. Further, the cast spent much of the performance looking down at its collective feet so as not to stumble across the treacherous obstacle course of risers and steps. As a result, Marton, born for the title role, was oddly tentative, the sturdy Domingo seemed distracted and ill at ease, while Soprano Leona Mitchell's hey-look-me-over Liu was too aggressive. Only Cuenod's crotchety Emperor -- a Swiss singing Italian the way he imagines a Chinese might -- hit the mark. James Levine conducted grandly, and the powerful choruses were declaimed lustily if not suavely.
Tickets for Turandot being harder to come by than those for Les Miserables, most fans must wait for the TV broadcast next season. As for Zeffirelli, he tackles Aida in 1988-89. An anxious opera world awaits the reconstruction of the pyramids.