The Rape of Lucretia: week 2 - week 1
L'enfant et les sortilèges & Gianni Schicchi: week 4 - week 3 - week 2 - week 1
Turandot: week 4 - week 3 - week 2 - week 1
The Italian Girl in Algiers: week 4 - week 3 - week 2 - week 1
Fidelio: week 4 - week 3 - week 2 - week 1

Turandot - Week One

The sets and costumes for Turandot were designed by Allen Charles Klein for The Dallas Opera.  When the Opera Company of Philadelphia costume shop receives the costumes, they organize all of them and then hold fittings for the more than 100 people who will appear onstage.

Tenor John Easterlin returns to the Academy of Music stage once more as Pong after his hilarious appearances as Dr. Blind in Die Fledermaus in 2005 and Don Basilio in The Marriage of Figaro in 2006.

Puccini’s loveable characters Ping, Pang, and Pong provide narrative for the opera as well as comic relief.  From left to right, tenor John Easterlin (The Marriage of Figaro, 2006) is Pong, baritone Eric Greene (Porgy and Bess, 2006) is Ping, and tenor William Ferguson is Pang in his Company debut.

Director and Choreographer Renaud Doucet (left) makes his Opera Company debut.  Here is goes through a scene with baritone Eric Greene (right), who returns as Ping after his appearance as Jake in 2006’s Porgy and Bess.

Director Renaud Doucet (standing) jumps in to go through a scene with (from left to right) tenor John Easterlin, bass Eric Greene, and tenor William Ferguson.

The price that Turandot’s suitors pay for answering her riddles incorrectly is death.  Stashed in the corner of the rehearsal hall is a headless dummy that will be used in the execution scene.

The upcoming production of Turandot involves over 100 people onstage including more than 60 OCP chorus members, 24 children from the Keystone State Boychoir, member choir of Commonwealth Youthchoirs, and 20 supernumeraries, as well as 6 dancers.  Here the dancers rehearse their choreography, created by Renaud Doucet, in costumes designed by Allen Charles Klein.